Mage Wars
by Ryzaria
Summary: Follow Clan Destiny as they journey around Ivalice-The Trailer for Chapter 16 is up! w00t!
1. Recruitment

Mage Wars  
  
Chapter 1-Recruitment  
  
In the strange land of Ivalice, a lot doesn't make sense. Monsters roam the world, looking for food, and often get it from those funny men in blue robes that keep jumping in their path. There are mad bunny women who summon unfathomable power from the ether to murderate the enemy. And they do this for fun?  
  
This story is about a human Black Mage, Thenardi, and his life-long friend, Madeline, a White Mage. They are mercenaries for hire, selling their unique services to the highest bidder, while they look to get better at their magic skills. Until one day. --- Thenardi was browsing in the shop in Cadoan. "So you say the Firewheel Rod can teach Fira?"  
  
The Nu Mou, full of wisdom, smiled and replyed, "Certainly. The Firewheel Rod may also teach Haste to a Time Mage and the skill Prominence to an Illusionist."  
  
"Thank you. Hey Madeline, they have a Cure Staff, you want it?"  
  
Madeline looked up from inspecting the Rapiers. "Yeah, why not. It'll help my healing."  
  
Thenardi nodded, and paid for the weapons. As he went out, he thought about the notice the Landlord had pointed out to him. That Marche boy had a big bounty on his head from the palace, and he could use the money.  
  
Madeline suddenly exclaimed, "Look! The Palace Templars!"  
  
She was pointing at the Red Templer Guard, which only appeared when guarding a member of the Monarchy, or Babus. Thenardi wondered who it was, when Babus stepped out from the throng. He cleared his throat and said, "The royal Prince Mewt requests mercenaries to capture Marche, for account of treason. All those who wish to participate, please step forward!"  
  
Nearly everyone did. Babus smiled and said, "Of course, there will be a small test. Guards! ENGAGE!!!"  
  
The Judge appeared and said, "The Fight command is forbidden! Color Magic is recommended." Thenardi and Madeline grinned.  
  
The fight was short and sweet. Most of the Templars did get knocked out, but only Thenardi, Madeline and a Nu Mou Sage survived. He smiled and said, "I am thankful I learned Giga Flare and Bio."  
  
Thenardi smiled back. "It was a good test of the new rod I bought. And Madeline's new staff."  
  
Babus cleared his throat to get their attention and said, "Ah good. Just the number I thought would have survived. You are Thenardi and Madeline, yes? I have heard many things about you. And your name? Ah, Quin, it is a pleasure. Now, if you would be so kind as to follow me?"  
  
The palace took Madeline by surprise. It was massive, and full of people. Babus explained that it was nearly Present Day and so people were giving their gifts early. Madeline saw a Summoner, and immediately was filled by a sense of purpose. One of her goals was to be a Summoner.  
  
The Nu Mou, Quin, saw this and laughed. "I can see you wish to be a Summoner. Well, ask at the Pub for information regarding it."  
  
"Thanks," she said, before entering the throne room  
  
In the throne room, Quin saw the Judgemaster, Cid, some of the Royal Templers, and in the middle, Her Majesty, Queen Remidi. Quin and Thenardi bowed, while Madeline curtseyed.  
  
The Queen smiled and said, "Thank you very much for coming. Now, I need you to do something for me. I need you to find someone called Marche. He'll have a Moogle with him. His clan is extremely powerful, so be careful. I have three others to help you. They are all Magical people, and will assist you as much as possible."  
  
At this, three others entered the room. There was a Bishop, a Blue Mage, and a Red Mage. Quin soon found their names to be Schneider, Largo and Eldana.  
  
"I so hope you can do this. The fate of Ivalice rests in your hands. Go to search for them. And bring him back. Alive, if possible." 


	2. Rebel Assistance

Chapter 2-Rebel Assistance  
  
While Thenardi, Madeline, Quin and friends were getting ready to lay the smacketh-down on Marche, something very strange was going down in Muscadet. 3 people were sat round a bar talking. One person wore wore a flat cap, with various holsters around his person, and was known as Kenneth. Another wore strange robes, the sign of an Alchemist, and was known as "Foobar" (his parents were hippies). The third was most dangerous of all. She was meant to be an Assassin, but she refused to wear the shawl that most others wore. Instead, she wore a long blue dress, and was receiving much attention from everyone else there. Her name was Agatha, and she was the leader.  
  
"Hi everyone!" she said. Despite the fact her job involved killing people, she always remained surprisingly upbeat.  
  
Foobar looked grimly at her and said, "Well.when will we strike at the Palace, Agatha?"  
  
Agatha looked back and said, "Don't worry. We'll be in the palace any day now."  
  
Kenneth, usually known for thinking in silence suddenly came out with, "I think we should get the help of Clan Nutsy, kupo. They're currently wanted by the palace, kupo!"  
  
Foobar was about to come up with a witty comment, but Agatha stopped him for everyone's sake. Foobar had a tendency to believe that he had a sense of humour. This was just a mad hallucination. "Hmm.that would be a good idea," Agatha mused. "But would they help?"  
  
"Good point, kupo. But I'm sure they'll listen to us if we take away their most valued friend."  
  
"What, the red-headed girl? She and Marche seem to know each other quite well." Foobar piped up with.  
  
"No kupo. It would be a good choice, but she's too powerful for us, kupo. We wouldn't survive. I mean the Traitor Nu Mou. He of the Law Cards."  
  
Agatha was quicker to realize this than Foobar. "Ah.Ezel! I'm sure he'll be easy to 'persuade'." - - Ezel was busy cleaning his shop. As he cleaned, he watched the Royal Templars walk past, arresting civilians just because they looked like Marche and his Furballed friend.something like Montblanc. Last he heard of them was that they were headed to Muscadet. As looked out the window, he thought to himself, 'Life is good.'  
  
At that point, the door opened. After peeking round the corner to check it wasn't Templars, he stepped out to greet a Viera in a blue dress. 'Odd,' thought Ezel. 'No job has evening wear as uniform.' He didn't let it bother him though. A customer is a customer.  
  
"Why, hello! You're Ezel aren't you, the guy who makes the law cards?"  
  
Ezel couldn't resist egotism like that. "Yes I am, Ezel Berbier, genius rebel, at your service!"  
  
"Ah good," she said, and took out a katana. Ezel wasn't afraid. He got this about twice a day.  
  
"That, my dear lady, is a Kotetsu, a weapon more suited for Ninjas. Also, I can tell that you are here not to hurt me. Otherwise I'd be swimming in blood."  
  
This faltered the Viera. "How do you know?"  
  
Again, the ego got through. "Because I'm amazing, that's why."  
  
"Well, your wit won't save you from being captured now!"  
  
"Think again child," the elderly Nu Mou said, before producing one of his "protection" cards. "This card means if you do any action harming myself in any way, you'll be in jail faster than you can say 'Assassinated'!"  
  
"Ah crap!" the Viera yelled, before storming off, only to get arrested by a drunken Judge who thought that she was Marche. The Judge woke up later to find he'd been Petrified for two hours.  
  
After a while, Ezel got back round to making lawcards. - - Meanwhile, The Happy Gang of Mages set out from Bervenia Palace. They were headed to Muscadet, as Marche had just been sighted.  
  
No-one noticed the gunner trailing them through the woods. 


	3. Fighting ensues

Chapter 3-Fighting ensues.  
  
Kenneth had them now. He could pick them off from a distance. They were in a Jagd, nothing could save them. Unless someone Ihappened/I to stop him. But that wouldn't happen. Famous last words, as one of the people there, the one which looked like a Blue Mage, suddenly looked up and started gesturing wildly in his direction. 'God dammit, kupo, can't I get a break?' he thought to himself, as the rest prepared for battle.  
  
What he said out loud was, "Back up, kupo, back up!"  
  
As he shouted it, Agatha and Foobar came running up, with a Gadgeteer, a Nu Mou Time Mage, and a Summoner. Kenneth grinned. Somehow, he saw them leaving alive. - - Meanwhile, Marche was walking down the same area with his clan, arguing with Montblanc.  
  
"'Let's go through Jagd Dorsa', you said. 'It's sooooooooooo much quicker', you said. Now we're lost!"  
  
"Well, actually Kupo, it was your idea to go through the Jagd." Montblanc replied.  
  
".shut up."  
  
"Do you hear that?" Montblanc said. He was referring to the shout of "Back up!" he'd just heard.  
  
"Yeah.let's go check it out!"  
  
As Marche walked ahead, Montblanc thought, 'Ah.kupo!' - - Thenardi was first to see them all run down the hill. The Gadgeteer looked quite weak though, maybe a break in defence.  
  
Madeline had already casted Protect and Shell on all of the party, so damage would be minimalized. Thenardi looked at who he thought was the leader, the Viera in the dress. She would probably be a hard nut to crack. But not as hard as the Summoner.  
  
He was proved right, as the Summoner was already invoking some demon to smite them. Largo had noticed as well and, backed by Eldana, were charging to meet her. As they charged up towards her, the Summoner's spell finished, and the demon appeared. It summoned a fireball out of nowhere and threw it at Largo, Eldana and, much to Thenardi's amusement, the Summoner too. Largo and Eldana managed to get away in time, but she wasn't quick enough, and got crushed under a ton of hot magma.  
  
Meanwhile, Quin and Schneider were going after the Gunner who started this off. The Gunner was getting panicky, as his shots were getting more and more off, hitting one of his own members, the Time Mage in the process. Luckily for him, it only scraped his shoulder, and he could still fight. When they were about to get close to him, the Gunner suddenly smiled. The gun suddenly crackled with mystical energy, and fired out with one huge burst at the pair. Quin jumped away, but Schneider wasn't so lucky and got blasted 30 metres away. Madeline ran to heal him.  
  
All of a sudden, Thenardi felt time speed up for him. He looked at the Gadgeteer, who had realized his mistake, and was now fruitlessly hitting his Pandora Box with a spanner. Thenardi made a break for him, but there was suddenly an explosion that blinded him temporarily. When he could see again, he saw Quin standing triumphant over what was left of the Gunner.  
  
That just left the Viera in the dress, the Time Mage and the Gadgeteer.no, wait, there was someone else. Heading straight for him. - - Quin was grinning with triumph. Giga Flare worked. Now for the Gadgeteer. The Gadgeteer however had finished hitting the Box with a spanner, and was taking out a cog, and throwing it in the air. As soon as that happened, Quin felt his sight being taken away. 'Oh dear, I wasn't expecting that,' he said. But before he tried to go after the moogle who did this, he needed to help Schneider up. Madeline had finished healing him, and he jumped up, and without a word, headed towards the Gadgeteer. He didn't see it, but he heard the sound of spells being cast and the moogle falling. When he fell, Quin found his sight back, and headed for the Viera. - - - Agatha couldn't believe it. It should have been alright. But now Kenneth was dead, the Gadgeteer was dead, the Summoner had commited suicide. It wasn't going very well.  
  
But she saw Foobar head towards the Black Mage, and the Time Mage, realizing his fate, casting Quicken on himself to make himself move faster. As Agatha puzzled over this, the White Mage suddenly appeared behind him and thwacked him round the head, making him slump to the floor, in a daze. 'Ouch,' she thought.  
  
But she couldn't help laughing as Foobar, after working his Alchemy Mojo, had produced a straw hat with a frog inside it. She laughed so hard that she didn't notice the Red Mage behind her. But she suddenly felt very tired.  
  
"Just gonna.rest my eyes.for a sec.on.zzzzzzzzz." - - - When Marche finally got there, he found that it was over already. There was much in the way of remains, but very little in the way of items. The people must have been targeted by bandits....oh Jesus.  
  
He was looking at an eviscerated body of a Gunner. It had burn marks all over.  
  
"Eep," he whispered, before telling the rest of Clan Nutsy to move on. - - - When Agatha woke up, the first thing she thought was, 'Where's Foobar?' Then she looked around to see him next to her, tied to a.chair? Then she realized she was in a not too dissimilar predicament. "Ah crap," she said out loud, before looking at her surroundings. She was in Muscadet, in the top floor of the pub. There were two people in the room apart from her. One was Foobar, still asleep. The other was the Black Mage formally known as Frog. He was reading. When he saw her awake, he sat up and put the book down.  
  
"Ok, why did you attack us?" the man asked.  
  
Agatha answered, "Clan Wars, y'know. Why are you capturing me in a Clan Battle?"  
  
The Black Mage answered, "Because, Clan Wars don't happen in Jagd Dorsa. It's kill or be killed. And we were very nearly the latter."  
  
"Bah, spoil our fun," she spat at him. She wasn't sure about him however. She'd heard about a Black and White Mage combo that hired themselves out as mercenaries. If he and the White Mage the above mercenaries, she could probably hire them. But they were under employment from the palace. 'Hmm.' she thought. 'The truth can be a dangerous weapon, and I don't think they know it yet.'  
  
"Ok, let me tell you about the wonderful monarchy," she said, with a serious look about her. "The Queen is placing stricter and stricter laws because her brat of a son wants her to. And it helps that his father is the Judgemaster. He has a personal mage, Babus, who we don't know much about, but he's extremely powerful. And then there's.him."  
  
"Him?" he asked. Agatha was glad to see some sort of interest.  
  
"Him, the iother/i guardian. He has a special law from the Monarchy. It's called a Fortune law, which means no damage can come to him. He is the other, less well known guardian. His name is Llednar Twem."  
  
"How do you know about him?"  
  
"One time, Foobar, Kenneth the Gunner, myself and a load of others stormed the palace. He walked out to greet us, happy as you like, and started killing us. Only we survived. And now Kenneth's dead, thanks to your Sage. Oh dear.  
  
"Now you have a choice. You can continue working for the Palace, or you can rise against it, and bring down the prince once and for all! What will you do?" 


	4. Accquaintances

Chapter 4-Accquantences  
  
Thenardi walked back through. His mind was in turmoil. She could be lying, trying to get him to work for her in trying to pull down Ivalice into Anarchy. On the other hand, if she was right, then he'd be helping some sort of dictatorship. And she did have a point.the laws were getting worse and worse.  
  
Largo was the only one in the other room. "Everyone else is downstairs, celebrating."  
  
"Why are you here then?" Thenardi asked.  
  
"I'm seeing the items we got off the others. I found a Spring Staff for Madeline and Schneider, and a Thor Rod off the Time Mage for yourself. Armour wise, we got a Mirage Vest for Quin to learn Reflex, a Black Robe for yourself to learn Return Magic, and a White Robe for Madeline to learn Turbo MP. Oh yes, and a Judo Uniform to teach myself DamageMP. So a good haul!"  
  
"Yeah." Thenardi agreed. The Thor Rod taught Thundaga, and two other spells, he couldn't remember. "Hey, Largo. The Viera said something about the palace being evil. You know anything?"  
  
"Wait." Largo seemed thoughtful. "Was the Viera wearing a blue dress by any chance?"  
  
"Yeah.why?"  
  
Largo smiled. "Well, that's Agatha. Assassin and anarchist extraordinaire. I used to be in her little group with Foobar and their merry men. I didn't know she was still at it though. Hmm.she wasn't lying. Agatha is many things, but never can she be called a liar."  
  
"So.it's true? So why didn't you do it?"  
  
"Let me tell you a story, Thenardi.  
  
"Once upon a time, we went to the palace to basically kill everyone there. This was when I was a White Mage."  
  
"You were a White Mage?"  
  
"Yep. You need certain skills to become a Blue Mage. But anyway.  
  
"We were greeted by Llednar, who attacked us with incredible precision. I couldn't keep up with healing and eventually I was struck down by Llednar. However, I was saved by my ring."  
  
"Your ring?" Thenardi was curious.  
  
"Yep. Very rare, very powerful. I still have it on. Have a look."  
  
He extended a finger, and Thenardi saw it.  
  
"It's called an Angel Ring. It bestows life to those who wear it, and protects them from most ailments. It was given to me after I saved Cyril from a bomb infestation by sending them to sleep. Night is a fun skill.  
  
"But it saved my life. I ran as soon as I got up from it. I promised if I saw her again I would join her immediately. And now's my chance."  
  
"Listen, Largo. She said something about I can 'continue working for the Palace', or I can 'rise against it, and bring down the prince once and for all'. What does she mean?"  
  
"She's inviting you and your friend to join her. I know I will. I have to do this, because I have to."  
  
At that point, everyone came upstairs. "Whatcha talking about?" Eldana asked.  
  
"We're talking about something that the Viera said." Largo said, and explained everything. At the end, there was an uncomfortable silence. Schneider spoke first.  
  
"Everyone, think about thissss. The queen has given usss a lot of money to find one perssson to bring back. This Agatha won't give usss that much, surely?"  
  
"Err.actually, the Queen didn't say anything about a reward," Largo replied. "We're only reckoning we'll get a reward. But we might not!"  
  
"I would like to add my personal opinion," Quin said. "If we decide to help the Queen to apprehend this Marche, then we may get a reward. If we decide to attack the queen, then we will go through a lot of danger, face this Llednar, and if we do survive that, then we have Babus to contend with. And if we survive THAT, and do assassinate the Queen, we could steal as much money as we wish. I support going to the castle and attacking her. But I do not agree with going with Agatha. I propose that we 6 make a clan of our own and support Agatha in her work, and help her occasionally, but not help her directly. Any objections?"  
  
After everyone agreed, they all went through to tell Agatha and Foobar. They were both delighted and told them that they would probably do better than herself and Foobar could. Thenardi was still worried. - - - As the meeting drew to a close, Agatha and Foobar had been untied, and they'd discussed the way they were going, Madeline was suddenly called by Agatha.  
  
"Listen well, Madeline. I have a staff for you. It's called the Nirvana Staff, a staff that teaches Auto Life to a White Mage, Phoenix to a Summoner and.something for a Bishop. Use it well. Now go."  
  
"How'd you get it?"  
  
".I stole it off Largo when he fell."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Now go.now."  
  
Madeline ran. Agatha was very creepy. 


	5. Muscadet and the crystal

Chapter 5-Muscadet and the crystal  
  
"Ok, where to first?" Madeline asked. It was an hour since they had made the decision to destroy the Monarchy, and they still had no idea what to do.  
  
"Err...first we need a Clan name." Eldana said.  
  
"Clan Anarchy..." Quin said. Nobody liked it, due to the fact it would draw a bit too much attention. Plus, it was a slightly stupid name.  
  
After various names put forward by everyone, Largo asked, "What about Clan...Destiny?"  
  
After much arguing, mostly by Quin, they settled on Clan Destiny. "Ok," Madeline said, "Where to now?"  
  
Schneider, who had been very quiet up until now, suddenly piped up with, "Mussscadet. Remember what Agatha sssaid? Marche and hisss clan are headed for Mussscadet."  
  
Thenardi stepped forward. His face looked surprisingly eager, Madeline saw. "Listen, we'll need to be on guard. The entire guard are there, including Babus. So I reckon we'll need some strength. We only have magic here!"  
  
"Err...Eldana and I can handle ourselves pretty well, due to the fact we use swords!" Largo said.  
  
"Rapiers."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Yeah, I guess. So Muscadet it is. Let's go!" - - - Muscadet, the Viera City, was currently swarming with Royal Templars. Innocent bystanders were being arrested for looking like Marche or his moogle companion.  
  
'I HATE my job,' thought Babus. He knew it was a necessity, but it didn't mean he enjoyed sending his Guard and Judges to attack citizens. It wasn't right.  
  
At that point, he heard a shout. "Hey! I'm the person you're looking for! Stop arresting those innocent people!"  
  
"And my day just got better," Babus muttered with a barely concealed grin, before sending the Guard, plus some of his special guard. Maybe the group that Remidi hired would turn up. And they did.  
  
"Ah, hello again Babus," the Black Mage, Thenardi said.  
  
"Ah, I'm glad you could come. They are here, and all you have to do is apprehend them. Isn't that lucky."  
  
"Yes, yes it is. Unfortunately things are a little complicated at times."  
  
As this sentence ended, a massive Thundaga bolt struck home, hitting and killing about 10 Templars. "Traitors!" Babus said out loud. However, inside, he was delighted. Should be an interesting fight. - - - "What the-" Marche said. The Black Mage had just frazzled nearly a dozen Templars. Also it looked like the rest of the clan were charging more magic to destroy Guard. "Montblanc! Can you help them?"  
  
"Yes, of course kupo!" Montblanc said, before charging a massive Fira ball and sending straight at a load of Templars heading for the group of Mages.  
  
"Good Montblanc. Grisanbela?" At this, Marches chief Assassin stepped forward. Unlike Agatha, she wore the traditional robes of the Assassin.  
  
"Yes, Marche?"  
  
"Well...err...can you Conceal your way to the Templars and assist our friends?"  
  
"Of course, Marche." And at that she disappeared.  
  
"Ok...just one more thing, Grisanbela...if you're there. Check if Ritz is there, would you?"  
  
"I shall, don't worry."  
  
"Good." He withdrew his twin swords. Everyone marvelled at how he could hold two heavy Knightswords, and the Arch Sword and Excalibur at that. When he was asked, he would usually reply, "Physics is a funny thing." However, he had one final trick up his sleeve.  
  
"Ezel? Come here for a second would you?"  
  
"Yes, oh masterful master! What shall you have your lowly slave do today?"  
  
Marche laughed. Since Law Cards were deemed legal, Ezel had a lot of spare time on his hands. It had surprised Marche when he offered to join, but he'd proved invaluable on many occasions.  
  
"Ok, Ezel, can you send the enemy to sleep for me?"  
  
"Ah, Azoth! Consider it done!"  
  
He took out his book of Hermetic Skill and started to chant the Azoth. Across the battlefield the Templars were slowly but surely falling asleep. 'Woohoo!' Marche thought. Then he ran across the battlefield and started hacking people with the Twin Swords. - - - "Hey, they're helping!" Madeline cried out. Largo turned and saw Babus seething with rage, walking towards Marche. As he passed, he heard him muttering, "Stupid Templars, can't capture a child, looks like a job only worth doing if you do it yourself..."  
  
Largo realized what he was going to do when suddenly he noticed a flicker. It seemed to be...a rip in time?  
  
However, the Judgemaster appeared. "Oh no, we're screwed, he whispered to Quin.  
  
"Ah, so this is Marche. Well, you have caused a lot of trouble. It's time to...what the-" the Judgemaster exclaimed. The Space rip opened and pulled them all in. - - - When Thenardi woke up, he found himself in a chamber. There was a tree growing all around and seeds everywhere as well. He looked around, and saw Madeline, Eldana and the Assassin of Marche's go down on their knees. "Why are they like this?" he asked Quin.  
  
"This is Exodus, Totema of Viera. They believe that Viera grow from the Tree of Exodus, and when they die, they are reborn from the tree."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Thenardi saw Marche, full of resolve, say, "I need to destroy this to get home. Just this and one more and I can go home..."  
  
"Oh ho! You think I will let you destroy one of our crystals! I think not! Judgemaster Cid! What are the laws today?"  
  
Cid looked through his clipboard. "Err...Team battles are forbidden. So Marche is fighting this on his own."  
  
"Oh, thank merciful Ultima."  
  
"Also, Fire is banned. And Ice is recommended. BEGIN!!!" - - - Largo was watching the battle avidly. The other clanners were making bets on who would win. Largo himself had already made a 100 000 Gil bet on Marche winning. Now he was watching scrupulously to see anything that could guarantee him walking away with 1 000 000 Gil.  
  
Marche was circling Babus, being careful not to let his guard down. Babus was first to move and, waving the mace about, released a ball of gravitational energy straight at him. Marche barely dodged it. He replied by charging straight at him, slashing both his swords. Babus dodged the first one, but the second one's sheer force set him flying into a wall. "Ooh..." he heard the crowd behind him. Babus did stand up though, to a great sigh by Marche. Babus let loose another ball of gravity, sending Marche flying.  
  
"Ooh, that's his health down by half!" Madeline exclaimed.  
  
Marche again stood up, and produced a card. "Stop is now forbidden!" he yelled, before throwing the card up in the air.  
  
"Ah damn," Babus said.  
  
Marche charged again, but this time got a side blow. Babus fell to the floor. Largo grinned. This was to be very profitable for him indeed. - - - Babus groaned. He failed. The Queen was going to be very annoyed. 'Oh well,' he thought. Then he heard the sound of breaking crystal. 'Ah...'  
  
Then Babus saw black. - - - "Babus...Babus?"  
  
The voice brought Babus round. He looked up to see Madeline standing over him. "Phew," she said. "He's ok everyone! I did it!"  
  
There was a murmur of congratulations. They were still annoyed they had to give her and Largo most of their money.  
  
"She isn't going to be happy you know. She'll send...him after you," Babus whispered.  
  
"Who? Who's he?" Madeline asked.  
  
"Oh...oh dear." This was Largo. "He means...Llednar!" - - - Mewt was really sad. Papa had just resigned from the palace, and now he had no friends again. It was just like before...  
  
"Mewt? Are you here?"  
  
"Mama!"  
  
"Good, you're here! I have a new friend for you. His name's Llednar, and he'll be protecting you from now on."  
  
A boy walked in. Mewt noticed how incredibly similar he looked like himself. "Hello Mewt," Llednar said. "It is an honour to protect you." 


	6. Clan Wars 1vs Ritz and Eldana and Largo ...

Chapter 6-Clan Wars 1-Vs Clan Ritz, and Largo and Eldana as you've never seen them before!  
  
Ritz looked out across the plains of Deti. The last meeting with Marche had scared her more than anything. He was more than determined; it was like it was his single goal in life to get home. But she didn't want to. She liked it here. She had friends, power and...hair. Beautiful, non-granny hair.  
  
"Ritz?" It was Shara. "What's wrong, do you see something?"  
  
Ritz actually hadn't been looking, but now she saw some people. "Hey Shara, there's a Black Mage, White Mage, and a bunch of other magical classes!"  
  
"Let's see?" Ritz saw Shara squint, then pause for a second. "Shara?"  
  
"Let's go. Gather everyone, we'll need it." Shara said. Ritz was now even more afraid. Shara didn't scare easy. If that was fear, as there was a trace of anger as well.  
  
"Eep." Ritz whispered. - - - Eldana was surprising cautious just now, Largo noted. He'd known Eldana quite a long time, almost as long as he'd known Agatha. But she usually talked., even a little.  
  
Largo remembered the time he first met her. It was two months after the Llednar incident. He was recovering in an Inn, when he heard about the incredible Red Mage who was undefeated in magical combat. He went to watch.  
  
The first contestant was Gelarto, a Nu Mou Black Mage. Eldana sent him to sleep and set him on fire at the same time. The next challenger was a Moogle Time Mage, called Benton. He got struck by lightning and poisoned at the same time. After Benton, no-one else volunteered, so she started picking mages out of the audience to fight, and beat. Eventually it was him. He needed help to get up onto the stage, as his leg was still sore from the Llednar incident.  
  
Eldana immediately tried to freeze Largo, but he was an expert and just absorbed the spell due to the Flurry Robe he wore. She then took out her Rapier and pointed it at him, sending it flying in his direction. Largo barely dodged it. "What, are you just gonna Matrix dodge everything?"  
  
Largo smiled at that thought. He remembered this bit clearly. He said, "Nope. But you better learn fast, amateur!" before charging at her. Remembering the Breath of Malboro, he cast Bad Breath. When the smoke cleared, she was poisoned, blind, silenced, immobilized and frozen in time. He was declared the winner.  
  
When she was unfrozen, she smiled. "Well, you are powerful! What do you do again?"  
  
"Well, I basically go around killing monsters. On my own. My life hasn't been fun,"  
  
"Hey, if you want, I could join you!"  
  
And that was the start of the partnership of Largo and Eldana. They were hand-picked by the Palace due to their excellent magical power. That's when everything started going waaaaay downhill. But he saw Agatha again, which was good.  
  
"Uh oh...people! With stabby objects!" Thenardi shouted out. Largo shuddered at the amount of the English language being murdered in that sentence. Then he saw them too.  
  
The clan was entirely female, including the lone human. The rest were Viera. The Viera at the front had a bow and was shouting something to the human. Then they all moved down in unison. There was also an Assassin, an Elementalist and a Summoner.  
  
"Prepare for a rough ride, people." Eldana said. She was unusually calm, Largo noted. She hadn't even taken her rapier out of its sheath yet. In fact, she didn't have a weapon in sight. - - - Madeline had finished Protecting and Shelling everyone. She still didn't know what that stupid staff did. She'd done some research and still nothing came up. But she could wonder about this later, as the other clan was running down now. The Assassin went immediately for Eldana. In fact, all of them did, except the human and the Archer.  
  
Thenardi and Largo ran to help, but were Slowed by the Elementalist. Schneider ran to help, and Dispelled the Elementalist's attempt to slow him as well. The Elementalist soon found herself drowning in a bubble of Water. Madeline chuckled, before running with Quin to help too. Then a funny thing occurred. Quin suddenly exclaimed, "Oh...two Ramuh?!"  
  
"What?" she said before looking up. He was right. There they were. Both of them were frying the enemy. Then she looked at Eldana. - - - "Hehe...it worked! Eat lightning!" Eldana yelled. She wasn't wearing the Robes of a Red Mage anymore. She now wore a blue and green dress thing with a horn protruding from her head. She was Eldana the Red Mage no longer. She was Eldana the Summoner now. With Doublecast too. She sent a Fire ball at the Assassin and another Ramuh at the Summoner. Both were fried.  
  
"Largo!" she yelled. "Come on, hurry up!" Largo tried, but couldn't due to the fact he was on Baywatch Speed. Eldana sighed, and looked up. There was two left, the human and...Shara?  
  
No way. She was here. Oh well, revenge is revenge. As is family feuding. 'This should be fun', she thought, before running to attack. - - - Largo had come out of Slow and was currently running to help Eldana. But suddenly the Human appeared with a rapier. Rapier? Humans can't equip rapiers, can they?  
  
"You won't survive this!" she yelled before thrusting straight at him. He barely parried it. He recognized the rapier. Although his Blue Mage Survival Guide was a bit bare on Rapiers, saying that they were the same as all pointy objects, and you should run, it went on about the most powerful one. This was it, the Femme Fatale. He remembered the particular section from the Blue Mage Survival Guide:  
  
Section 13e-The Femme Fatale  
  
"Of all the nasty pointy objects in Ivalice, the Femme Fatale is one of the most dangerous ones, often a sign of power. If you come up against one in hand-to-hand combat, write your will quickly, as you're screwed"  
  
"Crap..." he whispered, before parrying another blow. - - - Meanwhile, Eldana and Shara finally met again, on the field of battle. Thunder crackled overhead, frying the Summoner some more. "So, Shara. Here we are."  
  
"Yes we are." Shara replied, taking out two hunting knives, while Eldana muttered a few words and transformed back to a Red Mage, withdrawing her Rapier, the Eperism.  
  
Shara suddenly ran forward and...vanished? 'Damn her! She must have upgraded to Sniper and learned Conceal!' Eldana thought angrily.  
  
Shara re-appeared right behind her. "Boo," she said, before thrusting the knives. Eldana wasn't ready for this and felt the knives slide in to her leg and back. "ARGH!!!" she yelled in agony.  
  
"Here we are Eldana. No-one to help you, no-one to save you all of a sudden," Shara said, a sudden mean glint in her eye. "Just pain. Incredible pain." - - - Largo was still parrying the blows barely. The girl was still working away on his defenses, but instead of a concentrated look, she was smiling, like it was a puzzle with a solution...that was it! Her weakness was a lack of concentration!  
  
The next blow went for his leg. Largo, instead of parrying, prayed to Mateus and moved his leg out of the way. The Rapier hit the ground, breaking. "What the..." she said, an awestruck look about her.  
  
Largo smiled. "Concentration is the key, child," he replied, before slicing the sabre across her chest. The girl yelled in pain, before slumping to the ground. Largo grinned, and looked to see what everyone else was doing. Madeline, realizing there was not much need for her, had taken out her books and continued to study that staff of hers. It looked familiar to Largo.  
  
Then he looked to see what was happening with Eldana. "No..." he whispered.  
  
The Archer/Sniper Viera was standing over her, triumphant, with two hunting daggers in her hands. Eldana was in terrible pain by the look of her face. Largo immediately lost all conscious thought, and started the long hard walk to destiny. - - - Shara was grinning. 'Victory is nice,' she thought. And revenge. Never forget revenge. Then something caught her eye.  
  
The Blue Mage was walking quite steadily, paying no attention at all to anything else except her. The Assassin, finally getting up, ran to attack, but the Blue Mage simply stabbed her and continued moving, till he finally came right next to Eldana. He whispered a few words, and Eldana stood up again. "Uh oh," Shara said. "Oh well, let's call that a draw." And with that, she disappeared.  
  
Thenardi ran up. "Ok, what sort of drug-induced battle was that?" 


	7. Mateus and Llednar

Chapter 7-Mateus and Llednar  
  
"So, she's still alive then." Eldana said. It had been half an hour after the battle. Thenardi was still needing convinced that it wasn't an alchohol induced hallucination. Largo and Madeline were with Eldana, talking about what had just happened.  
  
"Ok, who's she?" Largo asked.  
  
"Shara's my sister, she was different from other Viera. She had accuracy with a bow that few had. Not only that, but she was always willing to do the right thing."  
  
"So why did she attack you?" Madeline asked.  
  
"One day, a black mark came over the village we grew up in, and a massive demon came to town. It basically ripped everyone it came up against into two. He made his way to our house, and grabbed Shara and my mom. I never saw either of them again. Until today. But she'd changed."  
  
At that point, they saw a sand dune rise up into the distance. "Delia Dunes, everyone," said a voice, which transformed into Agatha.  
  
"Hiya," she said quite placidly.  
  
"Hi," Largo replied, proving that his dialogue was just as witty as Foobar's. Speaking of which, he appeared too. "Hello."  
  
"I intensely dislike you," Thenardi replied, still sour over being turned into a frog.  
  
"Why are you here?" Quin asked. It was a good question, as they were near the middle of a desert.  
  
"Look over there." Foobar pointed to an area where a clan was. "It's Clan Nutsy vs the palace round two, with added Llednar!"  
  
Everyone stared at his pathetic attempt at humour. Thenardi had to be stopped from setting him on fire. "What?" Foobar asked.  
  
"Annnyyywaaaay, Llednar's there. That's bad, so we're gonna help. Wanna come with?" Agatha asked.  
  
"Yeah, sure." Largo said.  
  
After everyone had agreed, they moved on down to help. - - - Marche was scared. He was surrounded by people with big pointy spears. Not only that, some guy who looked like Mewt was leading them. "I think we're screwed, Kupo," Montblanc said.  
  
"I cannot let you hurt the prince," the boy said, with a hint of malice. He sounded like he'd attack suddenly for no reason than to protect Mewt. 'Where's super mages when you need them?' he thought. He was answered by a Gunner going flying past, set on fire. The Judge who was there shouted, "THE LAWS TODAY FORBID KNIGHTSWORDS AND SLOW!!!"  
  
"Ah crap," said Marche and the boy simultaneously. The mages flung another Templar to the side. The Summoner formally known as Red Mage started chanting, and old man Ramuh appeared to fry some more Palace troops. The viera in the dress walked along stabbing people with the katana in her hand.  
  
"Ok, same formation as last time, folks!" Marche shouted. "Montblanc, come here, would you?  
  
The newly appointed Time Mage walked forward. "Quicken Grisanbela a bit would you?"  
  
"Of course kupo!" he replied, then started chanting. All of a sudden, the Assassin/Sniper had appeared on the other side where the main battle was.  
  
"Ahem. I will still stop you. After all, how can you defeat me when you cannot hurt me," the boy grinned, suddenly behind them, and cut down Bensom, a hunter.  
  
At that point, the Judgemaster appeared. "You know the laws for today, Llednar! RED CARD!!!"  
  
He could hear the boy whisper, "Damn," as he was teleported to prison.  
  
Then the warp happened. - - - Everyone there was sucked in, except the Royal Guard. Thenardi woke up to find that only Largo was with him in the room. "Where's everyone else?" he asked  
  
"No idea," Largo replied.  
  
All of a sudden, a section of the wall moved away, and they saw Quin, Schneider and Eldana stagger through triumphantly.  
  
"See!" Quin exclaimed. "There will always be a secret passage in the wall."  
  
"Yesss, I sssee that now." Schneider replied. "But where'sss Madeline and Agatha?"  
  
Eldana took on a look of horror. "Oh damn! We must have left them behind at the entrance of the secret passage!" - - - While they were arguing, and Madeline and Agatha were getting lost, Foobar was in a strangely lit corridor. He had no idea where Agatha, or the others were. Then he saw someone, facing another direction.  
  
"Don't you like it here, Marche?"  
  
"Yes...but it's not real!"  
  
Foobar realized he must have found himself the 5th Totema. As he walked forward, the Totema noticed him. "Who are you?"  
  
"Err..." Foobar found himself without his quick wit, to everyone's delight. "I'm Foobar."  
  
"You should not be here. Leave."  
  
"I can't, there's no exit!"  
  
"Then...you shall die!"  
  
"Eep!" Foobar ran.  
  
"So anyway, where were we Marche." - - - Madeline was lost. With Agatha. So she decided to ask about the Nirvana Staff.  
  
"Err...any special things about the staff?"  
  
Agatha sighed. "I already told you the abilities. AutoLife for White Mages, Phoenix for Summoners."  
  
"Yes...but is it powerful?"  
  
"Yes. It's the second most powerful staff, after the Dream Watcher."  
  
"Oh...ok."  
  
And they continued walking. - - - "Ssso, Foobar, what did you sssee again?"  
  
Schneider was trying to calm Foobar down. Unfortunately, it was extremely hard. Foobar was scared out of his wits. After another few minutes, he gave up and said, "Ok, I'm bored now. Let'sss go to find Marche and his clan."  
  
As they went through the corridors, Schneider wondered what this thing was which scared Foobar so much. Foobar was still gibbering, while Thenardi was unusually quiet. 'Probably missing Madeline,' he thought. As they went through to another chamber, they saw Marche, talking to...himself?  
  
"I'm not strong! And I'm going to do this!" said the one who was more real  
  
Then the other, less real one transformed into a Vampire, along with three others. Also, a woman appeared, a very tall, heavily armoured woman. Mateus...  
  
"Err...little help?" Marche asked. - - - Thenardi watched silently, thinking about he actually hadn't done anything in a battle yet. What was the point? His way guaranteed living. And living is much better than being dead. Mind you, he didn't know where Madeline was. 'Where is she?' he thought. Then he saw Mateus, Totema of Humans.  
  
The rest of Clan Destiny were readying themselves. With Madeline gone, Eldana, having finished learning Ramuh, cast Kirin on them all to bestow Regen, while Schneider cast Barrier on everyone. Quin had already started battling, casting Giga-flare on the Vampire nearest them, reducing him to critical, but not killing him. 'Damn, these things are strong!' he thought. Marche was engaging Mateus, while the Judgemaster, who was judge, was trying to shout out the laws. "TARGET: ALL IS BANNED, PEOPLE!!! Ah screw it," he yelled.  
  
He saw a vampire headed towards him, and no-one was there to cover him, so he yelled, "FIRAGA!!!" summoning a huge Firaga-ball and sending it right at him, frying him, but not killing him.  
  
"What the hell...?" Thenardi thought. The Vampire was very close now, and it took a swipe at Thenardi. Thenardi dodged, but only just. He tried again.  
  
"BLIZZARA!!!" he yelled, this time freezing the Vampire. 'Hehehe,' he thought.  
  
He ran off to help Marche, who was ducking and dodging like there was no tomorrow. Thenardi charged up a Firaga Ball and sent it straight at Mateus. It struck her right in the face, and she screamed in agony. She ran over to Thenardi and went to whack him one. He dodged. "Ha! It'll take more than that to hit me!"  
  
Mateus grinned. "But I did. Look."  
  
Thenardi looked down. There was his hat, the sign of all Black Mages, on the ground, crumpled.  
  
Everyone knew that the hat of a Black Mage was sacred. It was an honour to wear one, and no-one was allowed to touch it. Not even monsters touched one, being so fearful of its owner's power. "To touch the hat is to touch death" is a Black Mage saying that is often true.  
  
Mateus was screwed. - - - When Madeline and Agatha finally walked in, they saw Mateus being beaten severly round the head by Thenardi, who was yelling, "NOBODY...TOUCHES...THE...HAT...EVER!!!" Everyone else had stopped fighting to look, even the Vampires.  
  
'Eep...Mateus must have touched the hat,' thought Madeline.  
  
"Holy crap! Mateus must have touched the hat!" Agatha shouted. Mateus just screamed.  
  
Five minutes later, when they were sure that she was dead, they looked at the crystal expectantly, and true to form, it exploded. Marche wooped. "Yay! I can go home!"  
  
Madeline looked for some sort of flashing fun happening. But instead, the queen appeared. "Eh?" Schneider said. Everyone silently agreed.  
  
"Why hasn't the world turned back to normal!?" Marche yelled at her.  
  
"Because the people who made it exist still desire it." Queen Remidi replied.  
  
"Doned, Mewt, Ritz...and myself." Marche said, an air of defeat about him. The queen disappeared. Then they all blacked out. - - - When they woke up, Quin noted that the Royal Guard had gone.  
  
"So Marche, I will see you around," the Judgemaster said. It wasn't a question.  
  
"Yup. Probably around Present Day."  
  
"Ok, see ya." Cid mounted his Chocobo and rode off. Marche grinned.  
  
"See you guys around too. Thanks for saving me there." Then he and the rest of his clan went off.  
  
Schneider piped up with, "Where to now?"  
  
Before anyone else said anything, Largo piped up with, "A shop for Thenardi to get a new hat."  
  
"I second that," Thenardi said.  
  
And so they headed for Muscadet. 


	8. Ressurection and Clan Wars 2 vs Clan Dip

Chapter 8-Ressurrection and Clan Wars 2-vs Clan Dip  
  
In the roads of the Jagd, a White Mage walked. She was feared by everyone, despite her healing Magic. They feared his power over magic, and the fact she could also cast Black Magic. This person was currently looking for a body.  
  
A Thief came out. "Hey you! You got a death wish or something?"  
  
The person turned around. "No. It is you who has a death wish if you are talking to me. Do you not know of who I am?"  
  
"I don't care," the thief shouted. "Gimme your weapons!"  
  
The person smiled. "I have no need of weapons, so I don't have any."  
  
The thief faltered, then shrugged and said, "Oh, then carry on then."  
  
The person mumbled something then pointed at the thief. Instantly, he was covered in Fire. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! OH GOD, HELP!!!" he yelled, before turning to ash.  
  
The Viera continued until he came to what he was searching for. It was the charred remains of a Gunner. He had been dead for some time, but it was no challenge to someone like herself.  
  
"Ah Kenneth...you shall rise again," the Viera grinned, before beginning the chant.  
  
- - -  
  
Kenneth was in a sort of hell, due to the power of the spell that was used on him. He kept hearing voices. A new wave was hitting him, in the form of Agatha.  
  
"You see Kenneth; we're managing fine without you. We're doing better now!"  
  
"Yes, but you aren't Agatha...kupo!"  
  
The only thing the voice was afraid of was being told the truth. It ran off in fear. Kenneth sighed. It was easy to get rid of the voice, but he was still bored. 'WHY HAVEN'T THEY CAST LIFE ON ME YET!!!" he yelled in frustration.  
  
Then he saw a white light, and ran to it, desperate to get away from the voice.  
  
- - -  
  
The Viera smiled. 'Good,' she thought. "Hello Kenneth. How are you feeling?"  
  
Kenneth sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "I feel like I've been dead for the last few weeks, kupo."  
  
"Well, you have been," the Viera replied.  
  
"Well, thanks kupo. Who are you anyway?"  
  
"Well, I am Viola. But that is not important. I believe you can help me find someone I need to see."  
  
"Who's that, kupo?"  
  
"Come with me, and I'll explain on the way."  
  
And so Viola and Kenneth left on the long trek to find the people they were searching for.  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, Agatha and Foobar had left to try to find some more followers. Madeline watched them go, and then went back to learning Auto life. As she went back to the inn, she suddenly heard a "Psst," noise. She turned round to see Thenardi, who beckoned her into the alley.  
  
As she got there, she realized how grim his face was. "What is it?" she asked.  
  
"Listen, isn't there something weird going on? Look, Quin is brooding, Schneider is looking sadder than usual, and Largo and Eldana...I haven't seen them all day!"  
  
"I last saw them throwing rocks into the river, laughing." Madeline replied. But he had a point. Things were getting weird, ever since that fight in the Jagd.  
  
"D'you reckon it's because we're cursed?" Madeline continued.  
  
Thenardi's new hat shook up and down as he laughed. "No. But it's just, that fight against Clan Ritz was weird. REALLY weird. Especially Largo. He seemed different. Like he was...possessed or something."  
  
"Eldana's his friend. Wouldn't you go all Sephirothy if I was nearly killed?"  
  
Thenardi smiled. "I would treat it as though someone had ripped my hat up."  
  
And that was the greatest comfort Madeline could have ever got.  
  
- - -  
  
Schneider was currently talking to Quin about their role in this strange plot against the monarchy. "It's just...we don't seem to be able to do much." Quin said.  
  
"Well...isssn't that better than being dead?" Schneider replied.  
  
"Hmm...you have a point," Quin grinned.  
  
At that point, Schneider heard a yell. "Yo, Clan Destiny! We've been hearing a lot about you! We want a battle!"  
  
Thenardi poked his head round the corner. "What's your position with the palace?"  
  
The man who shouted, an Archer, yelled back, "Neutral! We just want to increase our status among clans!"  
  
After hearing this, Schneider stood beside Thenardi and whispered, "Are you sure we can beat them?"  
  
Thenardi whispered back, "Hell yeah, I found a new staff at the Mateus battle. The Thor Rod!"  
  
Schneider grinned. 'Thisss should be interesssting,' he thought.  
  
- - -  
  
The Archer who lead Clan Dip was called David. He was a good, honest man, who didn't care what sort of Clan he was up against, as long as the fight they had was fair. This had led to him rising among the popularity rankings, and Clan Dip was the most powerful clans in Ivalice.  
  
Then came Clan Nutsy and Clan Ritz.  
  
Clan Dip had dropped in the rankings to 3rd best clan with the addition of these two clans. David did not blame him. He was too calm for that. His thoughts were that, 'At least we were best for a little while. And third is pretty impressive too.'  
  
However, 4th isn't, and David wanted to stop Clan Destiny from getting into the top three. When they first entered the Clan Wars, they were considered as an easy target to everyone, even David. But since they trashed Clan Ritz, they had shot up in popularity to 4th. And they looked dangerously close to becoming into the top three, knocking Clan Dip off the top spots. And David wasn't going to have that.  
  
David looked at the competition. He knew all their names, having done research. Thenardi the Black Mage was standing with a yellow rod, maybe a Thor Rod. He would cause problems. The story of him and Mateus had spread surprisingly fast after Marche blabbed it to the pubmaster. Now everyone was in mortal fear of him. However, the Black Mage Society was delighted. They loved this image of "Touch the hat and die."  
  
The White Mage, Madeline, was casting Auto Life on everyone. 'This will cause problems,' he thought. The Bishop, Schneider was casting Barrier on everyone as well. David cursed. This was making his job harder by the minute. The Blue Mage was casting Mighty Guard... "Everything's gonna do hardly any damage now kupo!" he heard Kilov the Animist say.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to try," he replied. The Summoner, Eldana was casting Kirin on everyone as well, and the Sage was preparing his magic.  
  
The White Mage of Clan Dip, Gillian, stepped forward. "Err...can I get this straight?" she asked. "We're up against a Clan with incredibly high resistance, Regen, and auto life. And you expect us to win?"  
  
David smiled. He'd been upgrading too, and produced a Greatbow. Gillian gasped, as he held the Max's Oathbow. "EVERYONE UPGRADE!!!"  
  
Adelaide, the Viera archer transformed to a Sniper, equipped with the Master Bow, and Kilov transformed to a Mog Knight, equipped with the Ebon Blade. The Bangaa Warrior, Kent transformed into a Defender with the Arch Sword.  
  
As Gillian gasped some more, David grinned. "Let's go everyone!"  
  
- - -  
  
Thenardi had changed since the battle versus Mateus, Quin noted. He was more willing to fight and was becoming a sort of White...Black Knight to Madeline. It was interesting, but he could make psychological analysis's later, as there was a Clan battle to be fought.  
  
Madeline had told Largo that due to the ring and the Sabre, he should lead at the front, with Quin and Schneider backing them up. So he ran to catch up with Schneider and Largo.  
  
The first person he came into contact with was the Mog Knight. Quin grinned, and yelled "BIO!!!" making the Knight suddenly collapse to the floor, writhing with the toxins of Bio.  
  
Quin saw Largo fighting a White Mage who looked reluctant to fight. She backed off after a while and yelled "CURE!!!" healing herself completely. However, Largo saw this as an opportunity and struck out with the Sabre, making the Mage collapse to the floor.  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, Thenardi, Madeline and Eldana were running to attack the Sniper and the Hunter. "Remember your promise, Thenardi?" Madeline asked.  
  
Thenardi smiled. "Of course. Don't worry, if something attacks you, I'll make sure they get what they deserve."  
  
Eldana giggled. "Aww, isn't that sweet!"  
  
Thenardi looked at Madeline, then at Eldana, and said, "That's an aggressive action!" and started chasing Eldana. All three of them were giggling, and Madeline forgot they were in the middle of a Clan Battle, until a Defender jumped out of nowhere and knocked her off her feet.  
  
"Thenardi! A little help?!"  
  
The Defender turned round and got the full force of a Thundaga Bolt, sending him flying into the Sniper, who was concentrating on hitting Largo. They both slumped to the floor. "You see! I keep my promises!" Thenardi said, before helping her up, and running off to get the Hunter.  
  
- - -  
  
David groaned as Kent was sent sprawling into Adelaide. "Oh well. You're up against six Clan members. Time for...ULTIMA!!!" he yelled, before charging up Ultima. Schneider, who was hit by an Ultima at the Jagd, ran, but this time Quin wasn't so lucky, and it hit him with full force. He was sent flying, but due to Auto Life, stood back up.  
  
"Dammit!" David yelled, and aimed another Ultima Shot at him. Unfortunately for David, this missed Quin. But it did hit the tree behind him, collapsing it onto him. David grinned, as Madeline and Thenardi went off to help him.  
  
Unfortunately Largo had caught up with David, and thrusted with his Sabre. David barely dodged, and taking out two hunting knives, threw them at Largo. Largo dodged the first one, but the second one skimmed his shoulder, and he yelled. Then he grinned, as the Regen placed on him by Kirin was healing him. "Damn," David whispered, before getting stabbed by the Sabre. As he collapsed, one thought kept running through his brain. "How, how, how, how, how...how...ho...."  
  
- - -  
  
Largo grinned. "We did it!" he shouted with glee.  
  
Quin, who was slowly recovering from having a tree fall on top of him, grinned. "Yes, we did well!"  
  
"Hey Quin? What's that by your foot?" Madeline asked.  
  
"No idea." Quin replied. They all looked down.  
  
It was a key of some sort. And where the tree had fallen, there was a keyhole. "Isssn't that convenient!" Schneider said.  
  
"Well, let's check it!" said Eldana.  
  
Largo picked it up, and took it to the tree. He slowly put the key in the lock, and turned it gently. Then he pulled the stump of tree next to it. He noticed it was on a hinge as it swung open easily.  
  
"Oh my god..." he said.  
  
He was looking at Kenneth and a White Mage. The White Mage smiled, while Kenneth had a gun pointed to his face.  
  
Eldana looked shocked. "What...how...when...who?"  
  
Kenneth smiled. "This nice lady brought me back, kupo."  
  
The White Mage's smile grew more so. "She does not mean you Kenneth. She means me."  
  
Eldana was still stuttering. "But...you...her...demon...?"  
  
"Who are you?" Thenardi asked.  
  
"My name is Viola," the Viera said. Then she turned to Eldana and said, "Well? Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to give your mother a hug?" 


	9. Some call meTim?

Chapter 9-Some call me...Tim?  
  
"Ah good. You made it, Kilov."  
  
Kilov smiled as he sat among the coven. This coven was consisted of some of the more powerful of the Magical Fold. And right now they were afraid. They had felt the beginning of a new exciting Magical Power, and it was threatening to engulf them all in an old, less exciting darkness.  
  
Kilov himself was a Moogle Time Mage. He was incredibly powerful at what he did, and was the equal of any Nu Mou mage.  
  
"So, Kupo, what have I missed?"  
  
The leader of the Magical Fold swivelled in his chair to face them all. He was most powerful of them all, and had a great deal of connections, especially in the palace. He looked at Kilov and said, "Well, this new, exciting Power is closing in on the Mage Clan, but we still haven't found out who it is yet."  
  
There was a sudden cough from the door of the meeting place. Kilov turned around to see the spy had returned. "Hiya, everyone."  
  
"Ah, Tim. What have you found out for us?"  
  
Tim the Morpher had been secretly tracking Clan Destiny for the last month, disguised as various animals. He was famous for his transformation skills, and owned a large amount of Souls. Also, Tim had recently been enlisted in Clan Nutsy which gave the Fold another foothold against the New Power.  
  
"Well, I found out that the New Power is someway connected to that Sniper in Clan Ritz. I have reason to believe that she is possessed. But that isn't all I'm concerned about. The Mage Clan has two who I think might have a very big part in this. May I show you?"  
  
At this point he muttered a few words and a projection appeared against one of the walls. There were many gasps from the Fold.  
  
"As you can see, these people have a lot of power. What do you think, oh Leader?"  
  
Babus got up from his chair. "Get them here. No-one else, just them. Stop the rest from trying to help."  
  
"Yes, oh great one!"  
  
"...oh shut up."  
  
- - -  
  
The air around the area of Clan Destiny was very tense. Eldana was still gaping, while Madeline was struggling to say anything at all. Eventually, Thenardi asked, "Err, this may sound off topic to this big revelation, but how did you get in there?"  
  
Kenneth, who had been absent-mindedly cleaning his gun looked up and replied, "It's a tunnel Kupo. Look, I'll show you. Everyone, follow me Kupo!"  
  
Viola was first to descend, due to the fact only her, Kenneth and Thenardi had control over their muscles, while the rest were still shocked about this revelation.  
  
Thenardi turned round. "For God's sake everyone! She's Eldana's mother! You can all have your shock after we've explored the tunnel! Now COME ON!!!" This seemed to spur everyone, as they grudgingly began to climb down to the tunnel.  
  
"Woah...thisss is incredibly big, this passsage!" Schneider exclaimed. "How did no-one find out about it?"  
  
"Because, Kupo, this chamber is filled with monsters," Kenneth said, grinning at the look on his face. "Yep, Kupo, there's Liliths, Vampires, Ahrimans, and Malboros! It's a fun chamber, kupo."  
  
"Eep," Schneider whispered. Then, as if on cue, two Vampires, a Lilith and a Malboro stepped out.  
  
The lead Vampire spoke, "Err...we may need your help."  
  
"OUR help?" Thenardi asked. "Why us?"  
  
"Err...yeah," Madeline added. "It's not exactly normal to ask non-monsters for help when you're a Vampire."  
  
"Just trust me, there's a weird Viera woman chasing us, and we can't run much longer. Please, protect us!"  
  
Viola thought for a second, then smiled. "Of course. Anything to help a Morpher."  
  
The Vampire faltered, then transformed into a Nu Mou with a strange Green Hat, with an Eye in the middle. "Was it really that obvious?"  
  
Schneider, meanwhile had walked up to the second Vampire, and tried to put his Staff through his heart, but was surprised when it went right through the Vampire, without hurting him at all. "Thessse are jussst illusssionsss!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Dammit," said the Morpher. "You just can't get a break these days."  
  
"Ok, explain why you were following us." Eldana came out with.  
  
"Uh-uh," the Morpher shook his head. "First, I want Miss Viera person with the Gunner to tell me how she knew it was an Illusion."  
  
Viola grinned. "It's not hard when you talk and act like an idiot. Honestly, a Vampire asking people? That's just lame."  
  
"Bah," the Morpher sighed. "Ok, but will you please protect me?"  
  
"From who?"  
  
"You know, the Viera lady. Big Bow. Goes by the name Evil-Possessed-Demon- Girl. You probably know her as Shara."  
  
Viola sighed, then turned to Eldana. "Is she still alive?"  
  
Eldana frowned. "You didn't know? She was kept there for years, before being possessed. And you didn't know?"  
  
Viola hung her head, then turned to the Morpher. "What's your name, anyhow?"  
  
The Morpher grinned. He'd been waiting for someone to ask him that since he first saw them. "There are some who call me...Tim?"  
  
There was silence.  
  
"...You watch way too much Monty Python, Tim."  
  
"Yes, yes I do. But that isn't important. Now, how about we go down to the pub, and you can treat me to a drink."  
  
- - -  
  
"Your body is my instrument, your eyes through I see, your will is my plaything, you are mine!"  
  
Shara finished the incantation, and grinned. Ritz was hers now.  
  
Ritz walked out. She had become a zombie (metaphorically speaking), a puppet for Shara to further her evil scheme. "Hello, Ritz." Shara said. This was fun.  
  
"Hello..." Ritz replied, waiting for a command.  
  
"There are some bad people who want to hurt me. I want you to deal with them. Can you do that?"  
  
"Yes, Shara." Ritz replied, before walking out calmly.  
  
Shara grinned some more. She was so happy, she didn't hear Ritz muttering under her breath, before running to an old friend.  
  
- - -  
  
Clan Destiny was running, trying to keep up with Tim. "Honestly...I...thought...he'd...not...be...so...fast!" Thenardi groaned.  
  
"She's round that corner!" Tim yelled, and ran around it. Thenardi commented on how stupid it was to do that, when Shara was around the corner, but they ran anyway, and turned round.  
  
"That's not Shara..." Eldana said, before getting whacked around the head by a Expolsion, and was sent sprawling.  
  
"Eldana!" Largo yelled, running to see if she was ok. The spellcaster stepped out of the shadows.  
  
"Babus?" Thenardi said.  
  
"Ah good, you're here. And Madeline too! Well, this is my lucky day," Babus grinned, before shouting STILL!  
  
And Thenardi saw Black.  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, Tim had faded into the shadows, where he could hear and see what was going on. He saw Babus casting Stillness on Clan Destiny, then whistling for help. Tim stepped out. "Well done, oh great worship-worthy one. You have frozen them all in time."  
  
"Wrong, child. How incredibly wrong," he heard a voice say.  
  
"Indeed. How can you be so sure?" another voice said.  
  
Babus was clearly freaked by this. "Come on, please hurry!"  
  
Help arrived, and they were carrying the people they were after to the Magical Fold, when Largo and Eldana stepped out of the shadows. Eldana didn't look any different, but Largo...  
  
Largo had changed. His entire person was covered in a glow which seemed to be pure angelic power. His Sabre looked a lot sharper and deadly. And shinier. And his Blue Robes were now much more stylish.  
  
Tim gasped. "What are you?"  
  
Largo grinned. "I'm Largo no more, I'm afraid. I'm the Ring."  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, the Magical Fold, in a panic, teleported the people they had taken with them to the HQ. Kilov was greatly surprised by this, and he started running around, looking for someone to help him. When he realized no-one was going to help him, he walked up to them.  
  
"Err...are you people ok, Kupo?"  
  
"My head hurts..."  
  
"Well, sit down, Kupo!"  
  
"Wait, Babus, he tried to hurt us!"  
  
"Babus! Wait...you're the people he was after. And they got you here, where he wanted you to be. Now that's kupo luck!"  
  
Madeline sat up. "Tell me what's going on now!"  
  
Thenardi sat up also. "Yes, do so. Now." 


	10. The Fallen Leader and Flashback 1The New...

Chapter 10-The Fallen Leader and Flashback #1-The New and Exciting Evil  
  
Please Note-This is the Chapter where the plot really starts getting going. So it's an important chapter.  
  
While Largo found his inner Angel, something sinister was happening at Doctor's surgery.  
  
Doctor was a Nu Mou White Mage who was experimenting with using Technology to aid medicine. This was scorned by other White Mages, but it had proved surprisingly popular. He was also a Chief Loremaster in the Magical Fold, and right now, he had a patient to see  
  
"You may not want to see this, Doctor," the Nurse said.  
  
Doctor turned to him. "I think I can handle one assault case."  
  
"Err...that's just it, sir. It looks like he'd been ganged up on. And this wasn't something random. This person had been targeted!"  
  
Doctor allowed himself a pang of sorrow, before he was ushered through to the room.  
  
"Oh...oh god."  
  
Doctor was looking at a man who practically had no face anymore, so scarred it would be. The clothes made him look like a Hunter. But this boys eyes, they were the worst...  
  
Instead of eyes, he had two carvings. One was a hand holding a hammer, which was making something, the other was a battle. Quite a vicious one at that.  
  
"The scariest thing of all, Doctor, was that he was conscious the entire time."  
  
"Oh...that poor man!" Doctor exclaimed. "What's this boy's name?"  
  
"David, sir. I feel so sorry for him. He led Clan Dip to greatness, and now he'll never be able to fire a bow again."  
  
"Please, Nurse. I'd like to speak with the boy for a moment."  
  
The Nurse nodded, and left. Doctor sat down.  
  
"Ok, this may be quite traumatic for you son, but could I ask you, do you know who did this?"  
  
David looked up at where he thought the voice was coming from. "They got at me with the carvings. The carvings, the carvings! God I hate the carvings, they remind me of what will happen!"  
  
"Woah, slow down!" the doctor said as soothing as possible. 'God, they took his mind with his sight!' he thought. Then something happened which surprised him.  
  
David suddenly smiled. "I heard what you thought I did, and I don't like it much, I don't! Nasty things to think, very nasty! Thinking I'm crazy, I'M NOT CRAZY! All through the carvings, THE CARVINGS!!!" He calmed down suddenly. "Oh, oh god. I'm sorry, Doctor. It's quite traumatic. But there's something about the carvings. It's what they mean. The hammer, making something that's new. The excitement of the Battle. I know what they mean, Doctor."  
  
"What is that, son?"  
  
"Have you heard of the New and Exciting Evil?"  
  
"...oh. OH!!! I need you to come with me to see someone!"  
  
Doctor ushered David through the double doors of the ward, round the corner, and down the stairs. As he got to the bottom, he muttered a few words and a door appeared. A flap at the side opened, and a moogle peeked out. "Password, kupo?"  
  
"The End of Days is coming. LET ME IN!!!" the Doctor yelled.  
  
The moogle faltered, then relented and opened the door, and Doctor came staggering through with David. David smiled. "People are here, people I know, people like...THEM!!!"  
  
Thenardi stepped out. "Whoa. David?"  
  
"Thenardi, you've survived so far!" David ran up and hugged him. Thenardi looked uncomfortable, and even more so when Madeline stepped out.  
  
But she looked terrified. "D-D-D-David? Oh...oh god! Ar-ar-are you ok? What happened?"  
  
David stopped hugging Thenardi, and ran up and hugged her. Madeline, unlike Thenardi, returned the hug, smiling. "Madeline...they came at me, with knives. They said, the End was coming, and I was going to be a major player in it. They told me I would have riches beyond my dreams if I sided with the New and Exciting Evil. But I said no, as it's wrong, so they...they...they left their mark to remember me by."  
  
"Oh god...who's they?"  
  
David looked even sadder. "My friends, my clan. They killed Gillian, and blinded me. This isn't good, is it?"  
  
"Oh, but it isn't!" said a voice.  
  
"Wha? Who said that?" Doctor yelled. Then they looked up.  
  
Above them shone the most beautiful thing they ever saw. A man was there, carrying a Viera, which looked like a Summoner. This man had massive Wings, and glowed with power.  
  
"Oh my god! It's Largo!" David yelled. "But, it isn't in the same stead. He's all shiny, his souls like an open book to me, for some reason. It's strange, very strange, but Largo's in the ring and the Angel is now Largo. And he's carrying Eldana!"  
  
Thenardi tore his eyes away from the Angel Largo to look at David. "How do you know all this?"  
  
David smiled and pointed at what were his eyes. "These. The c-c-carvings! They took my sight and gave me telepathy. It's just going slightly crazy!"  
  
Madeline looked pitifully at David. He'd done nothing wrong, and because of that was punished by his eyes being replaced with a strange prophecy. And by those he trusted! 'Damn, this should be a play...' she thought.  
  
Then Largo landed. The wings contracted back into his body, and he collapsed. "He's not dead, they're just switching bodies." David noted. Madeline could only hope he was right.  
  
"Isn't...anyone...going to...help me!!!" Eldana screamed.  
  
- - -  
  
"Woah...that was weird."  
  
Tim stood up, and brushed off the dust. Then he looked around.  
  
It was a literal bloodbath. It was lucky that only 4 members of the Fold had turned up, but they were bloodily slaughtered, except for one. Not including himself.  
  
"Ow...my head."  
  
"Babus...I mean Divine Leader! You're ok!"  
  
Babus stood up as well. "Those poor, poor people. They've been slaughtered!"  
  
Tim nodded, then remembered something. "Babus?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Where's the rest of the Mage Clan?"  
  
"Behind you," said Quin, before bashing Tim over the head with his Mace.  
  
"YOU!!!" Babus shouted, before Kenneth whacked him over the head with the butt of his gun.  
  
"Let's get them somewhere safe," Viola said. "Don't want anyone to find us."  
  
- - -  
  
While Largo was being shackled to a table and Eldana was being seen to by Madeline, Thenardi and Doctor were talking to David. He was telling them what happened the previous night, which happened a bit like this...  
  
- - -  
  
David was still seething about losing the Clan Battle, when Gillian came through to speak with him. "Listen, fourth is good too! At least we're still in the top 5!"  
  
David turned round and stared at her. "We were the BEST! And now look at us! We just can't keep losing! We need to do something, fast!"  
  
"We will. But stop worrying, ok?" she replied.  
  
"...yeah, you're right. I'll see you later."  
  
Gillian smiled and left the tent David was in. David smiled to himself, and decided that he should lie down.  
  
Then he heard a voice from somewhere say, "Hello David."  
  
David started, and turned round. There, in front of him, was...  
  
"Largo?"  
  
The Largo-Thing smiled. "No, not really. I'm sorta something you can't really comprehend."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Ever heard of the New and Exciting Evil?" David shook his head. "The End of Days?"  
  
David shook his head again. "What are they?"  
  
The Largo Thing sighed. "Yo mama."  
  
"That was uncalled for."  
  
The Largo Thing grinned, and transformed suddenly to Gillian. "Like I said, I'm something you can't comprehend. Like a New and Exciting Evil, for example."  
  
"Oh...OH!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" David screamed.  
  
The New Evil grinned. "No-one can hear you, so ha! Anyway, I have a proposition for you."  
  
"...go on?" David was intrigued. The New Evil's grin grew more so, and he transformed to a Viera, someone who held a bow.  
  
"Much better to use a form that works with me. Now, this proposition. There is a Clan called Clan Destiny. Do you know of them?" David nodded. "Good. Now, there is one person travelling with them there which can screw up my plans good and proper. His name's Largo."  
  
"Why's he such a threat?" David asked. The New Evil whispered in his ear. "Oh...really?"  
  
The New Evil nodded, then continued, "Now, what I need you to do is get him, and kill him! I'd send Shara...the girl I am just now," he added, noticing the blank look on David's face, "But she wouldn't stand two minutes against him. I'd send myself, but I don't want to reveal myself yet."  
  
"But why me?" David asked.  
  
"Your ring. That's why."  
  
"This old thing?" David pointed to the ring he wore. He was given it as a present from his mother on his 18th birthday. This was only a year ago. "It's just a Fortune Ring isn't it?"  
  
"Guess again, child, guess again!" the New Evil said. "This is an Angel Ring."  
  
David started again. "An...Angel Ring! Wow! I didn't know that!"  
  
"Yes, well there's only three of them, and you were lucky enough to get one of the two without the possessing Angel in it. Largo is a whole different story. Now, he'll be hard, but you'll need to focus on him. Also, whatever you do, DON'T harm the Black and White Mages. I have big plans for them."  
  
"Wait...you want me to hurt them?" David asked.  
  
The New Evil frowned. "Didn't you listen to the first part of the conversation?"  
  
"Not really. I heard something about ultimate power being yours."  
  
"I didn't say...that..." The New Evil said. He thought it, but didn't say it. "You're...you're telepathic?"  
  
David grinned. "Nah, I was just messing with you. I just made that up."  
  
The New Evil grinned. "I like your attitude. Just, kill this one person, and you could have everything."  
  
David was about to agree, thinking of the flesh wound he had gotten from Largo in /I battle, when he had a sudden flash. He saw the consequences of the two actions.  
  
On one of them, it saw him, on a throne, commanding thousands to do his bidding, killing people at will.  
  
On the other one, it saw him with no eyes, but standing triumphant.  
  
He realized, "This decision is the one that fates Ivalice, doesn't it!"  
  
"What?" the New Evil looked stunned. 'How did he figure it out?' he thought.  
  
"Because you know you can't kill me because of the ring, but you know that if I say yes, you've won!  
  
"And I know that if I help you, I'll be powerful beyond my dreams. But that's not me. I don't want to destroy thousands of people just for power."  
  
The New Evil grinned. "I was hoping you would say that," he said, before whistling. At once, Adelaide, Kent and Kilov came through, with Gillian tied up. Adelaide had a hunting knife pressed against her neck.  
  
"RUN, DAVID!!!" Gillian screamed.  
  
"So, David, you have a choice. Join me, and she lives. Disrespect me by declining, and she dies. Pretty easy choice now, you think?"  
  
David took out two hunting knives. "David! I saw what would happen! Just, don't do it! It's you, or the world! Just, run!!!"  
  
David smiled. "I can't let you die like this," he said, before hurling the two knives at his friends, the people he'd travelled with for ages. The first knife hit Adelaide square in the throat, and she collapsed, gurgling to the floor. The second hit Kent in the face, and he was knocked dead as well.  
  
The New Evil chuckled. "Well DONE, David. You ARE impressive. Kilov, kill her."  
  
David turned, and saw, horrified, as Kilov lifted his blade, and sliced carefully across Gillian's throat. She gurgled in pain, and slumped forward.  
  
"Sorry, David. Now, time for some torture!" the New Evil said, before chanting. David was hurled across the floor, where great snaky tendrils snapped up and rooted David to the soil.  
  
"AGH!!!" he yelled.  
  
"Hush now David. You won't feel a thing. After the first few hours..."  
  
David looked up, terrified, as Kilov stood over him, with the blade poised over his eyes. "Let's start with the prophecy, kupo!" Kilov said.  
  
"Kilov, WHY ARE YOU HELPING HIM!!!"  
  
"He's under my spell now," the New Evil said, before turning to Kilov. "Yes, the prophecies, let's start with those!"  
  
Kilov carefully lowered the blade.  
  
And David saw no more.  
  
- - -  
  
As David finished his story, Babus and Tim crashed through the door, closely followed by the rest of Clan Destiny. "Ow! Easy on the poor Morpher here!" Tim yelled as he was shoved through the door.  
  
"Is everyone here?" Quin asked.  
  
"Yup," Eldana replied. Madeline had finished patching her up and she felt a lot better. "Err...where's Largo?"  
  
A groan at the table answered that question, and Largo tried to sit up. "Err...why am I strapped to a table?"  
  
"Because you found your inner possessing Angel," David replied.  
  
"David?" Largo asked.  
  
Thenardi answered"Yup. He's just been telling us how he got blinded and tortured by this thing called the New and Exciting Evil. And how it wants you dead."  
  
Largo stammered. "B-B-B-But why would it want that?"  
  
"Your ring, dumbass. Of course, it doesn't help with the fact that the New Evil told me your Dramatic Secret."  
  
"...err, what secret is this?" Quin asked.  
  
"Yes, David, you never told us what that big dramatic secret was. Spill." Doctor said.  
  
"I KNOW IT!!!" Tim yelled. When everyone looked at him, he hung his head and said, "Not really...I just have a hunch."  
  
David smiled. "I know what you think. You're exactly right."  
  
Largo became very shifty. "No-no, no need to tell anyone that. Not at all!"  
  
"Thenardi?" David asked. "How did he get that ring?"  
  
"He said he got it for casting Night on the village...but now I think about it, how is that possible? I mean, he was a White Mage, for crying out loud!"  
  
David nodded. "Exactly! That ring of his, it's a family heirloom. His big secret is..."  
  
"DON'T!!!" Largo yelled. Everyone looked at him. "Err..."  
  
"As I was saying, his big secret...is that he's not exactly human."  
  
"What? He's part Bangaa? Cause that would explain the intelligence." Tim piped up with. Everyone had a good laugh about that one.  
  
"Hehehe...no, but a good guess!" David chortled. "Nah, he's actually part of a family filled with incredible magical power. He's actually one of a kind for his species. That's because he's part Viera. And just to make this even more dramatic, this family has two members in the room. That's right, everyone's looking at Eldana's twin brother." 


	11. Accepting and Present Day

Chapter 11-Accepting and Present Day  
  
"He...he's a Viera?"  
  
Everyone stared at Largo. Even Tim and Babus, who really didn't have any part in this stared. Eldana collapsed from over-dramatic stress.  
  
Eventually, Thenardi piped up with the obvious question. "Isn't he a bit...masculine to be a Viera?"  
  
David nodded. "That's what prophecies are for. To predict exactly what will happen, Biology or Physics be damned. It's annoying but unfortunately, it happens."  
  
"Wait, what prophecy is this?" Schneider asked.  
  
"The one NOT etched into my eyes."  
  
"Oh. Sssorry."  
  
The only person who had remained silent was Viola, who was slowly brooding at the back corner, while Kenneth was talking to her about something.  
  
"Err...could someone untie me please?" Largo asked. "I promise not to be possessed!"  
  
Thenardi walked over and untied him. "Ah, good." Largo sighed, before bolting it out of the door of the Fold's HQ.  
  
"What the hell?" Madeline gasped. "Why'd he run off like that?"  
  
Eldana had regained conciousness, and stood up. "Don't worry. I'LL get him!" Then she ran off.  
  
- - -  
  
Largo ran and ran as fast as he could, until he got to a dead end. "Ah, crap!" he yelled to no-one in particular. Then he looked up, and saw a pipe.  
  
"Oh well, worth a try," he thought, before trying to get a footing on the pipe. After about 6 attempts, he got a foothold and started climbing.  
  
As he got to the top of the roof, he realized what an idiot he was. But he knew where he was. This was where he used to go when he was younger to wind down. As he gazed at the sky, suddenly he heard a voice.  
  
"Mind if I sit down with ya?"  
  
"Eldana...no, sit down..."  
  
Eldana sat down beside him. "So...what's up?"  
  
"Well, everyone knows I'm the bunny man, and some all-powerful evil wants to kill me. So not doing too well."  
  
"Hmm...yes, that sucks. But why didn't you tell me that you were my brother?" Eldana asked.  
  
"Because, even I didn't know. I was too busy trying to hide the ears."  
  
Eldana grinned. "You have the big ears? Lemme see!"  
  
Largo shook his head, with the beginning of a smile on his face. "Nope, you'll just be jealous!"  
  
Eldana pretended to go in a huff. "Oh, fine! Be that way!!!" Then she reached up and grabbed the turban.  
  
"Oi! For all you know I could be as possessive over my hat as Thenardi!" he said, with no real feeling. But he was grinning.  
  
"Woah...they're huge!" Eldana exclaimed.  
  
Largo's ears were massive, even by Viera standards. "Yeah...well I warned you! Don't you be getting ear envy now!" Largo grinned.  
  
Eldana looked far from it, just pinging them from side to side. "Whee..."  
  
"Listen, Eldana...Eldana? Stop pinging my ears for a second, would you? Listen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. It was just...y'know, embarrassing."  
  
Eldana smiled. "Yeah, I understand. Just...next time when you have a big revelation thingy. Tell me first."  
  
"Yep, of course."  
  
"Good!"  
  
Then they walked back together to the Fold HQ.  
  
- - -  
  
"WOO!!! PRESENT DAY!!!" Madeline jumped up and down in glee. Each year, she and Thenardi competed to see who could get the best gift. Now there were more than two of them. Babus left earlier, saying he had to tend to the well-wishers. So Tim, Eldana, Largo, Schneider, Thenardi, Madeline, Viola, Quin, David and Kenneth headed to the palace, each wondering whose gift would be most highly appreciated.  
  
When they got there, they met some familiar faces.  
  
"Agatha?"  
  
"Hi everyone! Wow, Clan Destiny's huge!" she exclaimed.  
  
"Agatha? Is that you, kupo?"  
  
Agatha looked at where the voice was coming from. "Kenneth? You're alive! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!" Agatha started hugging Kenneth wildly, while everyone laughed.  
  
"So, you here for Present Day as well?"  
  
"Yup. Where's Foobar?"  
  
This was answered by a yell of "SON OF A...hello, how are you?"  
  
So, they all headed into the palace talking about what had happened with each other.  
  
Agatha explained that after the incident at Delia Dunes, she and Foobar learned of this New Power that had everyone in a tizzy. They went to Ambervale to find out more, and found out that it wants to enslave Ivalice.  
  
"So, what's happened to all of you?"  
  
So Largo explained about how they had discovered about this New, Exciting Evil, about Viola, about the Clan Battle with Clan Dip, and about David. He also explained about him actually being a Viera, which Agatha replied by purring. Thenardi whispered in Largo's ear, "Score."  
  
"Well, come on, let's go in!"  
  
And so they entered the palace.  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, some other familiar people were in the palace.  
  
"Are you sure this is the right way, kupo?"  
  
Marche sighed. "There's only one corridor here, and we've followed it exactly. How can we be lost?"  
  
"Well...err, you have a point, kupo. But why is no-one else here?"  
  
Marche frowned. "There's two reasons. One, that we're very late. Or two..."  
  
At that point, a load of people burst through the door, wielding very sharp weapons.  
  
"We've been found."  
  
- - -  
  
As Thenardi entered the main hall, he saw Marche and Montblanc cornered by some palace people. 'Ah...dammit!' he thought.  
  
"People are in trouble!" David yelled. "Let's help them!"  
  
They all groaned, especially Tim. "Dammit! Knew I had something to do today, helping out my clan. Guess I was too busy being frightened out of my wits to notice."  
  
"Come on you lot!" Agatha yelled. "Let's show them how much we rock!"  
  
"YEAH!!!"  
  
- - -  
  
"WHAT!!!"  
  
The New and Exciting Evil, in the form of Agatha, was very angry. "HOW DID HE GET THERE!!! AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I mean, out of all the luck! He just had to be found by a bloody member of the Fold! Right! Shara?"  
  
Shara peeked her head from around the corner. "Yes?"  
  
"Y'know how I said to bide our time?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Screw that, we're attacking now! Kill off the first member of their Happy Gang that you see. And do it FAST!!! We have a time schedule here!"  
  
"Okey doke. You want me to send Ritz? The spell will have fully kicked in soon-"  
  
"No, this is something YOU have to do. Be fast though. Present Day is happening, and that means that Marche is in the final stages of his battle. Well, RUN!!!"  
  
Shara ran out to find something to kill. The New Evil grinned.  
  
- - -  
  
In the heat of battle, the Palace People were doing terrible. The combined attack of Marche and Agatha worked surprisingly well. Thenardi turned, seeing a Defender running at him, screaming at the top of his lungs. He grinned and yelled "THUNDAGA!!!" sending a massive bolt at the Bangaa, who went sprawling against a Sniper.  
  
Meanwhile, Eldana had just conjured up Ramuh and Shiva, who were laying waste to some more Palace People. Quin had killed some more people with Bio.  
  
Of course, nothing this easy could last forever, and suddenly, Babus stepped into the room majestically and yelled, "STILL!!!" freezing the Palace People in time.  
  
He turned to Marche and said, "Don't think I'm doing this to help you. I just want to get to the bottom of this." However, this was a lie, because as he went, he gave Tim a sly wink. Everyone ran to catch up with him.  
  
As they went into the Throne Room, they saw someone they REALLY didn't want to see.  
  
"LLEDNAR!!!"  
  
Llednar grinned.  
  
- - -  
  
There was one person who didn't run with them.  
  
Foobar, having the directional capacity of a Goldfish (and probably the same memory too), had wandered off somewhere. So, he was even more worried when he heard the cry of "LLEDNAR!!!"  
  
He ran as fast as he could, as far as he could, just to get away from them. He was so elated on running, he didn't notice the Viera in front of him, and went flying into her, sending them both sprawling,  
  
"HEY, WATCH IT!!!" the Viera yelled. Foobar had the decency to look embarrassed.  
  
"...sorry," he mumbled. "it's just, I heard something, a scream...I mean a clang, and I legged it."  
  
The Viera looked thoughtful. "You wouldn't be a part of Clan Destiny, would you?"  
  
"Well...not directly, but I do know them."  
  
"Really?" the Viera grinned. "Then I AM lucky."  
  
At this point, Foobar realized something was wrong, but before he could say anything, or run some more, the Viera had taken out two knives.  
  
"I'm Shara. And you're dead."  
  
And the last thing Foobar ever saw or heard was the knife going flying towards him. 


	12. An interlude important to the story, Pre...

Chapter 12-An interlude important to the story, Present Day Part 2 and Flashback #2-Schneider's Past  
  
There were two main topics in Ivalice for discussion. One was the on goings of Marche and Clan Nutsy. This was a regular topic, as it never ceased to amaze people. Publishers were frantically signing up authors to write Marche-based books, while the people were discussing what happened at Delia Dunes.  
  
The other was the newer one. And it is this.  
  
- - -  
  
"So, what do you think of that hospital Lady Nanabu is building?"  
  
"What? The one for crazy people? I think it's stupid."  
  
"Why? They'll be properly looked after! Isn't that good!?"  
  
"Well...yes, but I don't see why we just don't just do what we usually do."  
  
"Because...it's wrong! Back me up here!"  
  
"It's a good idea...but she should have picked a better spot. I mean, right next to Ambervale? EVERYONE knows what goes on there."  
  
"Yeah...oh well. Wanna go buy weapons?"  
  
"Yeah ok."  
  
- - -  
  
There was a great debate on the hospital that Lady Nanabu was building. It wasn't on the idea itself. Most people thought it was a great idea, as it would mean they would have proper help, or in the case of horrible people, that it would stop them being a nuisance. However, the place she had decided to build it on wasn't appreciated by anyone, and it was only due to the queen stepping in that it was built. There was still a lot of protest though.  
  
There were two reasons why there was so much controversy about the positioning. One was that the Bishops of Ambervale said it was Sacrilege to build on Holy Ground. This was something that few people agreed with, but they saw their point of view. But there was a far more insidious reason.  
  
For the last few weeks, people have been hearing things coming from Ambervale, like screaming, laughter, and yelling. This was a regular occurrence as the builders held frequent parties. However, there was sightings of a mass amount of cloaked people seen wandering through the wood. And of course there were the people that were going missing.  
  
There was also a third reason, but no-one actually knew it. The New and Exciting Evil, in his infinite wisdom, decided to set his main base here.  
  
All he needs to do...is to wait.  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, Clan Destiny didn't know what to do. They were trapped, and Llednar was basically invincible. "Ah dammit," Marche yelled.  
  
Thenardi tried sending a Firaga Ball at him. The fire enveloped him, licking everywhere, but when the flames settled, he was still standing. "Err...I second Marche's opinion."  
  
Llednar grinned. "It's that pesky Fortune Law again, isn't it. OMEGA!!!"  
  
Massive light beams shot out of his hands, heading for Montblaunc. He screamed as the beams enveloped him, burning the fur and flesh from his body. He collapsed an empty shell. Marche was about to leap forward, both swords raised, to try and hurt Llednar in any way possible.  
  
It was lucky that at that point, Cid arrived.  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, Ritz was trying desperately trying to get to Marche. Shara's spell had worked wonderfully on her, and she was losing control of her body and mind. A voice whispered in her ear, "There really is no use trying to resist. Kill...him...now! Remember, the reward is good. You get to live. You would be the most powerful person in Ivalice. And alive, don't forget the living part!"  
  
The New Evil, now realising that Clan Destiny was actually a threat to him, had gotten Shara to boost the speed of the Mind Spell. This was because Ritz and Shara were his last hurdle, apart from his secret weapon. Then he himself would have to get his hands dirty.  
  
However, a blessing had come along in the form of the Mental Asylum. Where it was built was a great Magical Source. It was hard getting used to the holy ground, but being an almighty evil beast-thing, he had a knack for adapting to situations.  
  
"Bah...can't wait to unveil the secret weapon," he grumbled, before going back to convincing Ritz to kill Marche.  
  
- - -  
  
"Damn it..." Llednar muttered. "You arrived too early. Don't worry, Marche. I will come back for you. And when I do, you will die."  
  
Llednar suddenly vanished, leaving everyone with a chilled feeling. "Thanks Cid. I owe you a big one there!" Marche exclaimed.  
  
Cid grinned. "You realize that the search for you can only get worse. Don't you? But I'll need your help, and I'll try to make sure to help as often as possible. I need to see Ezel, just now though."  
  
"You rang, your Judgyness?" Ezel stepped out of the mass of Clan Nutsy.  
  
"Err...yes, if you would be so kind..."  
  
They stepped off into a corner and started talking about some sort of card. Marche turned to Thenardi. "Listen, I know it's not much of a reward for helping us these past few times, but please take this, as a token of our appreciation." At this, he produced an incredibly intricate Rod.  
  
"It's called the Saphre Aude," he said. "Only one in the world, it's really powerful. So you hold on to it, it might save you one day." Thenardi grasped it, and shook with a feeling of power.  
  
"Thanks a lot."  
  
Marche looked around, seeing someone he recognized. "Tim! Why are you with them!!!"  
  
Tim looked shifty. "They...err...um...LOOK!!! MONTBLANC'S REMAINS ARE BEING EATEN BY A COUERL!!!"  
  
Marche turned round and saw just that. "DIE!!!" Marche yelled, before running to destroy the Couerl.  
  
"Let's go quickly," Tim said, already running.  
  
No-one noticed Shara hauling a bag full of Foobar around.  
  
- - -  
  
"OH YES!!! We're so great!!! WOO WOO!!! Who's the best!"  
  
Shara and the New and Exciting Evil were skipping around the asylum singing this over and over again. It had worked perfectly.  
  
Shara was pleased because she had killed something.  
  
The New Evil was happy because he now had a body he could use to start the ritual to summon the secret weapon.  
  
So things were good in the Evil Base.  
  
- - -  
  
In a forest somewhere, a Dragon had just picked the wrong Ninja to mess with.  
  
This was a particularly fierce Dragon, who goes by the name Haeteptus, and he had been raiding Baguba Port for many years. He was hungry all the time, and there was always plenty of food.  
  
Unfortunately, he picked the wrong time to be hungry.  
  
The Ninja leapt in a sudden arc and threw his katana down, skewering Haeteptus, but he had been skewered a good few times, so he was able to survive this. The Ninja looked slightly stunned, and Haeteptus took the opportunity to take a bite out of his left shoulder. He was greatly surprised by this, and turned around, only to get a Veil of Wood thrown at him. He was greatly surprised by this, and didn't notice the Beastmaster coming out behind the trees, playing the Harp.  
  
Instantly, the beast was soothed, and the Ninja suddenly jumped on his back. He threw a bag of coins at the Beastmaster, and Haeteptus realized he was fooled. But he had a strange yearning to do what the Ninja said, because of the Music.  
  
Wasabi the Ninja grinned, before flying to fulfil a part of the New Evil's plan. Without knowing it.  
  
- - -  
  
Wasabi the Ninja is one of the few people who travel on their own in Ivalice. He doesn't need anyone else. They'll just slow him down. Well, in his opinion.  
  
He was currently headed for Ambervale, on account that there was apparently a big, bad thing there which was going to kill everyone. He thought that it was stupid, but he wanted to look good, so he went there. Unfortunately, he will unintentionally help the New Evil.  
  
Oh, and he's related to David.  
  
- - -  
  
So Clan Destiny, now incredibly large, parted company with Agatha, who had the feeling she was forgetting something.  
  
Thenardi asked, "Where are we going now?"  
  
"Ambervale, everyone." Tim replied. "Babus told us all that the New Evil would go there. Not sure how he knew that...bet he's a devil worshipper."  
  
"You're on," David said, well aware that Babus wasn't a devil worshipper, due to his aura.  
  
"Wait...Ambervale?" Schneider tensed up. "Oh...oh no."  
  
"Why, what's wrong with Ambervale?" Madeline asked.  
  
"Err...nothing, no reason, not at all!"  
  
Schneider remained quiet for the first few miles of the journey. Thenardi kept asking him why he was so nervous, but he said nothing. After a few hundred times of asking, he eventually gave up and said, "You really want to know? Fine...tell everyone that I'm telling everyone why I'm nervousss."  
  
- - -  
  
Schneider told his story, which went something like this...  
  
- - -  
  
Schneider is actually over 60 years old. This took part when he was 46.  
  
He was Chief Bishop of Ambervale Church. He had the power of the entire church at his disposal, but he never did anything bad with this power. This was what made him so popular among the religious community.  
  
One day, there was a new priest who wished to enrol into the church, a human White Mage called Rothus. He had a wide knowledge of religious matters, and got on well with everyone, especially Schneider. He was eventually appointed co-Chief Bishop. They were both on the verge of rekindling the interest of religion again among the people of Ivalice.  
  
Until they found something...  
  
- - -  
  
Rothus walked through to the main hall of the massive church of Ambervale, looking for Schneider. He was incredibly excited as he saw him praying. After blessing himself in the name of Mateus, he ran to talk to him.  
  
"Schneider! SCHNEIDER!!! I think we're on the verge of a great discovery!"  
  
Schneider turned around. "Really? How?"  
  
"Well, I found a door outside the Church, and I think it may have a specific ruin of some sort!" Rothus was bursting with enthusiasm.  
  
Schneider grinned. "What sssort of evidence do you have?"  
  
Rothus was waiting for him to ask him that. "After seeing it, I remembered studying a sort of super-powerful weapon that existed under the Holy Ground. This could be it!!!"  
  
"Firssst, that'sss not great evidence. Sssecond, we don't need or want a weapon."  
  
Rothus nodded. "Exactly. Which is why we should take it, to stop anyone else using it!"  
  
Schneider thought about it for a second, and then smiled. "Ok, usss two will go. The othersss won't like it."  
  
Rothus grinned, and then ran outside. Schneider ran, trying to keep up with him. Eventually, Rothus stopped and pointed dramatically at a wall. "There it is..."  
  
Schneider looked.  
  
And looked.  
  
And looked.  
  
"Err...not to sound stupid here, but I don't see anything!"  
  
Rothus walked up to the wall and muttered something, causing light to burst through the area that he was tracing with his finger. Schneider followed the outline, and eventually saw that a door now stood in the wall. He gaped. Rothus grinned. "Are you coming in or not?"  
  
Schneider groaned, then followed him through. Then he gaped some more.  
  
The entire chamber was filled with arcane pictures, torturing, and a sort of prophecy. Everyone in the Church knew the prophecy. It was the End of Days prophecy, except this was the full one. It had one with a boy with a knife in his eye, and another with an Archer standing triumphant. This was the Tainted One, as they called him. Or, as more stupid people call him, the New and Exciting Evil.  
  
"Hey, I found the weapon!"  
  
"DON'T TOUCH IT!!!" Schneider yelled, but it was too late. Rothus grasped the handle of this weapon, and heaved it out with one motion. Schneider gaped yet more.  
  
This was not a sword, or a scythe, or a rapier even. It was a Rod, the Heretic Rod, second most powerful staff to the legendary Saphre Aude. Schneider could only watch in horror as the staff's dark energy suddenly flew out of the Rod, and into Rothus. He convulsed as the energy swept over him. Schneider ran and hid.  
  
This was a good idea, as later in the day, Rothus burst into the church, slaughtering everyone in there. Schneider survived only by hiding in the Statue Hall, the place that no-one went into.  
  
Rothus eventually went into the Statue Room, looking for Schneider. "Come out Schneider...I won't hurt you. You're my friend, I'd never hurt you! I want you to help me! Just like old times!"  
  
Schneider stepped out from behind a statue and stared at Rothus. He was smiling. Schneider opened his mouth and said:  
  
"SSSECURITY ACTIVATE!!!"  
  
At once, all the Statues activated like they should have done at the first sign of danger. A little beam of light focused on Rothus from each of them. Rothus looked at them. "Err...I can see that the church really had a tight security system."  
  
"Trussst me, they do. DIMENSION SHIFT ACTIVATE!!!"  
  
The beams of light suddenly enveloped Rothus, who couldn't escape. Schneider looked at him. "I'm sssorry. But I want to live."  
  
The Beams compacted into themselves to another dimension. Schneider sighed, then walked silently out of the church and of his old life. 


	13. Over the Hill

Chapter 13-Over the Hill  
  
At Doctor's hospital, things weren't looking well. The place was under constant attack from agents of the New Evil, and only him, Kilov and Babus were there to stop it. The rest of the members had been killed by the constant attacking or, like in the case of Tim, were doing other business, and they had no way to tell them what was happening. To make things worse, Kilov was mortally injured, and Doctor couldn't heal him, due to the kind of damage he had been dealt.  
  
The followers of the New and Exciting Evil dipped all their weapons in a special poison, called Miasma. They get it by capturing Zombies and drawing it out of them. It has the special property of nulling all spells cast its way. Babus and Doctor were desperately trying to find a counter to it. Unfortunately, they also had to contend with the endless stream of Tainted Ones, as the Fold called them.  
  
It was looking grim. And things were about to get worse.  
  
- - -  
  
Wasabi had taken a wrong turn, and, instead of arriving at Ambervale, arrived at Cadoan. "Dammit," he thought, before heading to the pub. He needed a drink.  
  
As he walked in, he saw quite a few people chattering excitedly about the same thing. He went up to the Landlord, and asked, "What's going on?"  
  
The Landlord grinned, then shouted, "EVERYONE!!! Someone doesn't know!"  
  
Wasabi looked irritated. "Doesn't know what?"  
  
"I'll explain," said a voice, which stepped out of the crowd to turn out to be a Viera in a blue dress. Upon seeing him, she stumbled slightly.  
  
"Oh no..." Wasabi groaned.  
  
Agatha fumed. "YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPLAINING TO DO!!!" she yelled, before grabbing him and pulling him over to the bar stool.  
  
"Eep!" Wasabi squeaked.  
  
"NOT ONE MAIL!!! NOT ONE!!! YOU COULD AT LEAST HAVE PASSED A MESSAGE ON TO THE LANDLORD!!!"  
  
"But...I...adventure...Ninja..."  
  
"DON'T MAKE EXCUSES!!!"  
  
Wasabi groaned. He was in for a rough day. He had one card to play though.  
  
"I know," he said, with a sudden calmness about his voice. "How about I travel with you then, to make up for it? Whaddya say?"  
  
Agatha slowly grinned. "Yeah, ok...I'm headed for Ambervale, so you can keep me company. And you can take me out for dinner one day too. That ok?"  
  
Wasabi nodded. "Ok, first though, can you explain what everyone is talking about?"  
  
"Well, you know Marche? Well, him and his clan faced Clan Ritz, and won thanks to Clan Destiny...again!"  
  
Wasabi paused. "Wait...that's it?"  
  
"Well, no. Also, the attacks on the Hospital."  
  
"Quick question, Agatha. Were you at the Clan Battle?"  
  
"Yeah, watching. I think this is what happened..."  
  
- - -  
  
Agatha was half way to Cadoan when she remembered what she had left behind. "Dammit! I forgot Foobar! Ah well, he's probably trying to enter another comedy club." She grinned. Foobar tried to enter one at least once a week, but he always got booed off stage.  
  
"Bah..." she whispered, then, out of pure compulsiveness, started singing completely out of tune. "La la la la la la la, lalalala! La la la la la la, la la la Largo...what the?"  
  
That last word had been blurted out without rational thought. "Didn't think that, didn't say that, just because he's a big hunk of Viera Manness...why am I still speaking? AHHHHHHHH!!!"  
  
And with that, she ran up the road, only to trip on a Couerl Shell. "Ow...wish they'd pick up their dead bodies...bah. Where am I again?"  
  
She looked around her. "Must be in...Siera Gorge! Not far now!" She turned and saw Clan Ritz, Shara at the head of it. She was giving orders to Ritz and the rest of the clan. Agatha had a sudden yearning not to be there, and so hid behind the massive rock just behind the cliff. She manoeuvred into a position where she could see and slightly hear what was happening. She heard this:  
  
"Now Ritz, you must do this. If you don't, then...I really screwed up with that spell."  
  
"Do not worry. I will kill him."  
  
"Nice to know. Now go, now!"  
  
Agatha started, but didn't do anything about it for two reasons. One, she'd be killed instantly. And two, she was too scared. With good reason.  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Quin and David were talking to Schneider.  
  
"So, you were CHIEF Bishop? Cool!!!" David exclaimed.  
  
"Is there any danger that the New Evil will try to bring Rothus back?" Quin asked.  
  
Schneider was about to shake his head, when he remembered how powerful that weapon of his had been. Maybe the New Evil could do it. But they had the Saphre Aude still. Well, Thenardi has it.  
  
"He might, but we'll be ready for him. Don't worry. Plusss, he'd need a host body to transfer his soul into," Schneider answered.  
  
"Ah...that's good," David said. "By the way, did anyone see Foobar leave the palace with Agatha?"  
  
"No, he probably got lost," Quin replied, before pausing. "...either that, or..."  
  
"The Tainted One has the host shell," Schneider pronounced dramatically.  
  
There was a few moments silence.  
  
Eventually, David came out with, "Who's The Tainted One?"  
  
- - -  
  
Largo was currently investigating the Angel Ring, with the help of Tim and Viola, who said that she was wondering what it was also. They were away from the battlefield all together because, as Thenardi noted, "We don't want any other Holy Angel Massacres."  
  
They were currently at Cadoan Inn, where the Landlord had graciously offered his help in researching this matter, and gave them a cheery grin when they said "No thanks."  
  
"Wait, which book are we looking at right now?" Largo asked.  
  
"Err...hold on." Viola flicked the book to its front cover. "Err...it's called 'How to turn Swill into Gil.'"  
  
Tim sighed. "Well, unless your Angel is a farmer, I don't think this book will help what-so-ever."  
  
Viola grinned. "What about this one? It's called 'Accessories, Pendants, Rings and Shoes for your Knowledge.'"  
  
"Yeah, that might be it. Tim! Look up the index!"  
  
Tim groaned. "WHY ME!!!?"  
  
"Because all you've been doing since we started is make jokes about the book titles," Largo snapped.  
  
Tim grinned. "Oh please...you give me too little credit."  
  
"Now..."  
  
"Ok, ok. I'm doing the stupid research." Tim started searching the index. Largo and Viola waited with baited breath. Eventually, Tim laughed. "Half a page of Angel Ring content!"  
  
"Woo! Maybe it'll give some background info."  
  
This is what it said:  
  
- - -  
  
Angel Ring  
  
Known among Scholars around the world as the Ring of Life, there exist only three in the known world. One of the three is inhabited by the Demonangel Archtaeus, who has the power to temporarily control the mind and body of the Ring's bearer.  
  
Only two has definitive locations. One is in the household of Thesous, and the other is presented to the head of the Church of Ambervale (Chief Bishop as of Writing: Schneider Zacchier). The Possessed Ring has yet to be found.  
  
In the End of Days prophecy, it speaks of Archtaeus breaking free and wreaking havoc on the land.  
  
See also: Demonangel, Archtaeus, Church of Ambervale, Schneider Zacchier, Thesous  
  
- - -  
  
As everyone finished reading, there was a silence.  
  
Then all three spoke out at once.  
  
"Oh...oh no!"  
  
"Woah, Schneider's in an encyclopaedia? Cool!!!"  
  
"Err...anyone want to hold on to my ring for a second?  
  
- - -  
  
Marche was trying to negotiate with Ritz.  
  
"Come on! This is a dream world, and you know it! Please! Let me through!"  
  
Ritz shook her head. Shara turned to her and said, "Listen, I'll go with your decision. What do you want to do?"  
  
Ritz turned to her and said, "I want to stop him. Attack!"  
  
"Eep!" Marche squeaked, before running back to the rest of his clan.  
  
"Bad news everyone. We're gonna have to fight. Ok everyone?" There were some murmers of agreement. "Now, Grisanbela? Usual tactic. Same with you Ezel. Kilov? Ah, there you are. Run and try to attack the rest of the Clan, ok. Ultima Charge them from a distance. Got your Calling Gun equipped? Good. Benton? There you are. How fast can you cast your Phantasm? As soon as you can if possible, ta. Everyone ready? Move out then!"  
  
As Marche started the long hard walk to Clan Ritz, he saw out of the corner of his eye, a pointy straw hat, with a Black Mage wearing it. He was talking with a man who...oh, poor guy! He had no eyes. He was also talking with a Sage and a Bishop.  
  
"Please let it be the Mage Clan...helping us," Marche whispered before charging to fight the first Viera in his path.  
  
- - -  
  
"Ok, David, can you fight?"  
  
Thenardi was getting everyone ready for a big assault on Shara, hopefully taking her out of this for good. He was currently talking with David. He wasn't sure if he would be able to hold any sort of weapon.  
  
"Don't worry. I can still fire a bow. Better be wearing Arrow Proof Robes though, or you're dead!" David grinned, before equipping his trusty Oathbow. "C'mon, Angel Ring. Don't let me down now," he thought, before going into battle.  
  
He first sensed a great Magic power going towards him, probably a Summoner, so he took aim with his bow, and fired once, twice, three times in the direction. They all missed the Summoner, but hit the Elementalist behind, and she slumped to the floor. "La la la la, shooting people with ma bow!" David sang, before sensing the Summoner again and letting loose with some more arrows. They all hit, and the Summoner fell on her knees, wounded, but not dead. However, Largo ran up and finished the job for him.  
  
David sighed. "La la la la, Angel boy stealing my kills, while I'm shooting people with ma bow!"  
  
- - -  
  
Thenardi watched with Madeline and Eldana, fascinated, as David let loose arrows at Clan Ritz, hitting many times. Then they noticed an Assassin headed for them and ran to deal with her.  
  
This particular Assassin was called Anne, and had no idea about Clan Ritz's deadly evil power. She had just joined because of the fact it was all Viera, and her friend said it was a great life. So far she had really hated it and was going to quit after this battle.  
  
So she didn't deserve being roasted and electrocuted by Thenardi and Eldana.  
  
As they surveyed what a mess they made, Madeline summed it up. "Woops."  
  
- - -  
  
Meanwhile, Schneider, Quin, Tim, Viola, Kenneth, David and Largo were marching with Clan Nutsy to fight Ritz and Shara. They agreed that Clan Nutsy would take Ritz on, and Clan Destiny would take on Shara. As they reached the top of the hill, Shara was waiting, a huge grin on her face.  
  
At that point, Agatha ran, afraid for her life. She swore to find help.  
  
- - -  
  
"Wow..." Wasabi grinned. "What happened next?"  
  
"Dunno." Agatha smiled. "I only left two minutes ago, the fight's still on!"  
  
"Really? Well, come on! Let's go help!!!"  
  
So Wasabi and Agatha set out to save Clan Destiny.  
  
- - -  
  
The entire Clan Destiny were up the hill now, staring at Shara.  
  
Shara smiled. "Show time..."  
  
- - -  
  
At this point, Doctor's hospital was over-run.  
  
Doctor died teleporting Babus to safety.  
  
Kilov died setting off an explosive device, destroying the Hospital and all in it. Including the New Evil's followers.  
  
The New and Exciting Evil was not happy about this. But he could be happy about the fact he could start the spell.  
  
"My secret weapon...my Tainted One shall return to this dimension! Return...Rothus." 


	14. The End?

Chapter 14-The End? They never got the Asylum finished. The fact that the New Evil launched a full-out attack the day before its official opening didn't help. So the New Evil now had a Magical Convergence to bring back The Tainted One (as he calls him.), or Rothus back from the dimension that Schneider sent him to, by using Foobar's body as a host. Clan Destiny were about to try and take on Shara head on, with Agatha and Wasabi running to the battle, mainly just to kill things. Still...no worries, eh? - - - When Babus woke up, he had no idea where he was. He got up, brushed the dust off his robes and looked around him. He was in a church of some sort, possibly Ambervale. "Ambervale..." Babus whispered, trying to piece together his memories. His head felt terrible, like it had been whacked around by a baseball bat. When all the pieces fitted together in his mind, it wasn't a pretty picture. Babus turned and headed for the exit, but, as he was about to leave, he heard a voice. "Mama, why are we here again?" The Prince! He heard Queen Remidi reply, "Because, some bad people are coming to take me away, and this is a very safe place. And look! Your friend Llednar is here!" "Yay! My friend is here." Babus decided to go through and confront them, and headed for the door. As he was about to enter, the door opened and Llednar stepped out. He smiled at him. "Hello, Babus." "Listen, Llednar, I NEED to see the Prince!" "NO-ONE sees the Prince!" "Stand aside Llednar, I must see him!" "Then...you shall die." At this, Llednar drew his sword. Babus stared. He was serious. Of course he was, this was Mewt's violent side. But, he wasn't going to give up this shot. "SO BE IT!!!" Babus yelled, and, with no other plan in mind, whacked Llednar over the head with his Mace. Llednar, despite the fact it didn't do any damage, still felt the blow. It startled him, but not enough, and he sliced the broadsword, slashing Babus across the chest. "PAIN!!!" he yelled, before slumping to the floor. - - - "What the hell was that!?" Remidi asked Mewt, who responded by shrugging his shoulders. She went outside to look, and saw Llednar wiping blood off his sword, and Babus lying on the floor. "Llednar! What did I tell you! No killing the mages! BAD LLEDNAR!!! - - - "Wait, before we start kicking the crap out of each other, a question. How the hell did Largo, Viola and...Tim, get here from their place so quickly?" Shara asked. Shara and Clan Destiny were still facing each other at the top of Siera Gorge. They all knew this was going to be a fight which would be part of the battle against the New Exciting Evil. Plus, it was a personal battle; they had figured out what happened to Foobar and, with the exception of Thenardi who argued that his jokes were so bad that he deserved to die, they decided to show no mercy to his killer, who they figured out was Shara. Largo answered, "Viola knows teleportation." "Oh." "I have a quessstion too." Schneider said. "Shara...are you actually possessed? Just that Eldana said she was..." Shara paused, then threw back her head and cackled wildly. When she had stopped, she answered, "No. Never was, never will be. That demon, I bet the crap out of. Then The New Evil appeared and asked me to join him. And I said yes." Everyone paused. They were hoping that the answer would have been along the lines of a "Yes, I am a host of Lucifer," so they didn't have to face someone...normal. Just a normal person who just happened to be evil. "Bah. Enough talk, let's fight!" - - - Meanwhile, Marche had already finished their fight with Ritz, winning and saving her from the spell, and was headed towards Ambervale. The New Evil didn't know about this however, as he had work to do. "Tainted One, arise from your other-worldly dimension. Filter your essence into this sacrifice, and let the world bleed!" An aura surrounded Foobar's body, and poured in through his nose, ears and mouth. The New Evil grinned. "It worked! YAHOO!!!" Foobar stood up. "Ow...my head...where have I been?" "First of all, what is your name?" the New Evil asked. "Rothus. Is it just me, or am I in an...Alchemist?" "...It's not you. Anyway, I have a treat for you Rothus." "Really?" Rothus grinned, and the Heretic Rod appeared in his hand out of no-where. "What is it?" "Well, it's news. Schneider is still alive." "Ooh...revenge!" Rothus took on a thoughtful face. "But...I could use him for a different purpose...nah, I'll just torture and kill him." "Amen to that," the New Evil whispered. "So, where do we start?" The New Evil yelled, "TAINTED ONES!!! ASSEMBLE!!!" At once, hundreds of men with hooded cloaks materialized. Some of their hands were visible, and Rothus/Foobar noted that they were hideously deformed. Yet they seemed nimble enough to hold the knives they were carrying with deadly skill. No-one had seen their faces, ever. "These are yours to command. Use them well, Rothus." Rothus grinned. "When can I use them?" "Not now. Not enough of them. Now, I when I tell you, I want you to run to the Church and confront Clan Destiny...the Clan that Schneider's in," he added, noting the blank look on his face. "Do whatever you want with Schneider, but capture the Blue Mage and the blind one. They're the important ones. And you cannot fail. Got that?" Rothus nodded, then walked over to the corner and started to wait. The New Evil hummed a tune while waiting for the End of Days to begin. - - - Before the fight started, Eldana yelled "LAW CARD!!! Banning Sharpshoot!!!"  
  
Shara started. "Ah dammit, you can't get a break these days. Oh well." She withdrew two hunting knives, and prepared for the fight. Tim grinned. "Woo! I can actually do something!" he yelled, before muttering something, and transforming into a Flan. Shara smirked. "A Flan? Honestly, I don't think a Jelly can hurt me no- AH!!! PAIN!!!" she yelled as Tim set a MASSIVE Firaga Ball straight at her, and she ran around trying to fan the flames off her. All of a sudden, she disappeared, and reappeared in the same incident behind Quin, thrusting out with the knives and flooring him. "Ah...dammit. She can teleport too, Kupo!" Kenneth said, before she appeared behind him. He turned round and unloaded an entire clip into her, but she only flinched slightly, before thrusting out, flooring Kenneth. "Kenneth!" Viola screamed. "That's it...young lady, you're in so much trouble!" Shara turned round and smirked. "Ooh, look. It's mummy-dearest! Whatcha gonna do? Smack me?" Viola groaned, before yelling "THUNDAGA!!!" sending a massive bolt towards Shara, who yelled and jumped out of the way, before disappearing again, reappearing behind David. "David, look out!" Madeline yelled. But David was already on it, turning round and parrying with his own knives. Shara started, disappeared, reappeared and stabbed Tim. "Oh, the PAIN!!!" Tim yelled, but didn't fall. "Eh? Why aren't you dead?" Shara asked. Tim grinned, then took out a spell-book with a massive hole in it from the knife. "Feel the wrath of my spell-book!" he yelled, before flinging it at Shara. It hit her square in the jaw. "OW!!! I'm gonna get you for that!" she yelled. But Tim already had that covered, as he slumped to the floor. Shara smiled, then turned around. "Ah, Eldana! How's that wound? Still sore? Well, that's JUST a taster!" she yelled, before running straight for her. Eldana grinned. "Watch, as I show off the staff I found from Present Day! MADEEN!!!" Instantly, a holy beam went flying into Shara. "AH!!! MORE PAIN!!!" she yelled. "Err...sweetie? She ain't falling." Viola whispered. At that point, Schneider pointed down. "Hey look! Agatha! With...sssome guy." Agatha grinned, before running and jumping up onto the ledge with the man. Shara turned around and barely parried two Katana blows. She ducked, then tripped Agatha and the Ninja, before running back towards Clan Destiny. Largo was closest, and would be hard pressed to run, due to the fact he was backed against a cliff. Shara grinned and flung a knife at him. It flew. And it flew. And it flew. And just before it hit him, a shield of light covered him, absorbing the knife and swallowing it whole. "What the hell..." Shara whispered. Largo smiled. "My guardian Angel," he said, before taking out the Sabre. "Rush her." Shara tried to teleport, but found she couldn't. "What the..." she whispered. She turned around and saw Viola at the back, chanting some sort of counter-spell. "Ah crap..." Thenardi was at the front of the pack. Shara saw him charging up the Thundaga Bolt. Shara saw him fire the Bolt. Shara saw the Bolt flying towards her. Then Shara saw black. - - - "We...we did it!" Madeline grinned. "Ow...pain...sore..." Largo whispered. Eldana smiled. "Pheonix Down time," she said before going around, reviving the Clan Destiny members. "So, Agatha. Who's your Ninja friend?" Thenardi asked. "He's Wasabi, the Ninja." Agatha replied. David suddenly yelped. "Wasabi? Wait, he's my brother!" Wasabi, who had been sitting by the bridge admiring the view, turned round. "Holy crap! David! What the hell happened to you!!!?" "New Evil didn't like my rejection of his business proposal." "Oh...I'm sorry." At that point, Tim sat up and asked the one thing everyone thought. "Is it over? Can we end this and go home?" Schneider shook his head. "It may be for the ressst of you, but I want to finish off what we ssstarted. I want to go to the source of it all." Largo whispered, "The New and Exciting Evil..." Schneider nodded. "Yesss, and Rothusss. We can save Ivalice, I mean. Come on! You know we can do it!" Everyone paused for a second, then nodded. Schneider smiled. "Well then. Time to go to Church." - - - "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The New Evil felt the death of Shara, and was incredibly frustrated. Shara had proved faithfulright to the end...or is it the end? "Ohhhhh, Rothus?" the New Evil asked. He decided to change his form, as he'd been as Shara for quite some time. He transformed into David. Rothus appeared. "Yes?" "I need you to bring me a body." "Want me to kill someone?" "No, a body which is already dead. It's Shara. When you find her, give her a drop of this," he handed him a bottle of Pheonix Down. "So hurry. When you find her teleport back." Rothus nodded, and disappeared. Two minutes later he reappeared, a living Shara in tow. The New Evil smiled. "Good, you're still alive. Ok, time to mount up. Time to prepare for the war. Are we all ready?" Shara and Rothus nodded. "The End of Days is close at hand. And the world...the world shall BLEED!!!" 


	15. A New and Exciting Ending

Chapter 15-A New and Exciting Ending: Please Note-This is the last part of Mage Wars 1 out of 3. Everyone-NOOOOO!!! NOT MORE MAGE WARS!!! Me-Bwahaha!!! But seriously, before I start, I will thank Link Masters for reviewing pretty much every chapter I posted on Fanfiction.net, and David, a good friend of mine who is the only visitor to the Mage Wars website, so thanks to you both. Now, time for the last chapter of the story...*cries* - - - "Are we ready everyone?" "Yes!" "Good. Now, we'll need to split up into three groups. The Shara Group, the New Evil's Agents Group, and the New Evil Group. Right, due to my great planning, I divided you into your groups myself. Eldana, Quin, Viola and Kenneth, you'll be taking on the Agents of the New Evil." "Woo." "Tim, Agatha, Thenardi and Madeline, you'll be taking on Shara." "But she's dead!" "You really think the New Evil would let her die?" "Yeah, he's evil!" "So? She's like his best agent." "...can I continue here?" "Meh...ok." "That leaves Wasabi, David, Largo and hopefully Babus." "Babus isn't here." "He's probably at Ambervale. You lot are taking on the New Evil." "But I only joined five seconds ago!" "Yeah well, you gotta make sacrifices. Everybody clear?" "No. What will you be doing?" "I'm going for Rothus." "You can't take him on by yourself! You'll be murderated!" "Yeah, well...anyone else volunteering? No? Good. Now let's go." - - - As they all got to Ambervale, they saw the end of what looked like a massive battle. Llednar was on the ground, while Marche was standing triumphantly. "No...can...still...fight...just a...flesh...wound...ahhhHHHHHHH!" he yelled, before being covered in stone. Marche paused slightly, then brought the hilt of his sword round, smashing the Llednar Statue to a million pieces. There was a great cheer from everyone as Marche looked triumphant. They weren't as ecstatic however, when Marche ran over to kneel beside someone. "Babus, are you alright?" he asked. "I'm...in tremendous...PAIN!" Babus yelled. "Listen, just get out of here. Let Marche sort this out. Ok?" Cid said, with a voice full of authority. "I'm fine. Just in a bit of AGONY!" "Lie down, Babus, you're obviously injured." "...maybe slightly. Maybe I should just lie here IN PAIN!!!" "You do that. Come on Marche. It's time for a meeting with the Queen." Cid and Marche exited, and Clan Destiny ran up to Babus. Schneider smirked. "Told ya he'd be here." - - - "Is everybody ready?" "Yes, your evilness." "Wow...cool nickname. But I digress. We need to be ready. This is going to be the first of many battles with Clan Destiny, and we HAVE to win! Now, we are all ready, yes?" "Yes your evilness." "Are we all equipped?" "Yes your evilness." "What about you two." "Yup." "Got my weapons." "Ah, good. Now, go slay 'em." - - - A few minutes later, Babus had been fully healed by Madeline and Viola. It wasn't easy. Llednar had a very mild form of Miasma in his sword, which was just mild enough to be healable. Just. "So, Babus. Want to go slay some evil?" Schneider asked. Babus grinned. "Like you wouldn't believe!" "Good. You're going for the New Evil then." "Err...ok..." "Good. Now, let's go find him." They only saw the door ahead of them, so decided that it would be logical to try and go through it. As they went through, Babus exclaimed, "The Queen! She's been stabbed!" Agatha muttered, "Bah, should have been me who killed her. I was rebelling before it was fashionable." As the Queen slumped, Thenardi could have sworn that her body disappeared for a second, before being replaced by another one. This new one wasn't dead, and stood up. "Heh heh heh...did you really think that would kill me?" she asked, grinning before, quick as a flash, transformed to a Blue Glowing thing. "What the hell is that?" Marche exclaimed. "That is Le-Grim. She is made up of all the wishes in the world of Ivalice," Cid replied "Err...yeah, of course I am," said Li-Grim. Thenardi then realized who it was, and whispered to Schneider, "That ain't Li-Grim! It's the New and Exciting Evil!" Schneider paused. "You think so?" "Yeah." "Hmm...maybe. Either way, we're gonna help. Marche!" "Err...yes?" "Need any help?" Schneider asked. "Of course! The more the merrier as they say." "Who's they?" Wasabi asked Tim, who sighed and answered, "Yo mama." "Hey Schneider. Why aren't you hissing at every S? What's up with that?" David asked "Because I'm concentrated. Trust me, when this is over, you'll be drowning in 's'es!" Li Grim grinned. "Let the party begin!" - - - In the Salikawood, there lived a Vampire named Melehkor. He wasn't exactly feared, despite the fact he was incredibly bloodthirsty and evil. Well, he thought so. There were two reasons why no-one feared him. The first one was that he was a vegetarian. Despite how many times he tries to bite people, he's too squeamish over the blood that he stops at the last second. His current diet is Tomato Juice, and Tofu Meat Alternatives. The second reason is that he's afraid of the dark. How ironic, huh? Melehkor was currently in the pub at Cadoan, having a Bloody Mary (what else?) when he heard something. "You heard about that Angel Ring?" "Yeah, it can cure you of all illnesses, even Zomibified!" Melehkor was intrigued, and called out to the people who were talking about this Miracle Ring to explain to him about it. So they did. They explained about them all being bestowed with the Auto- Life ability and the ability to cure every status Ailment. "There's also Ribbons, but they're only able to be worn by Vieras." Melehkor smiled a toothy smile. "Thanks, I'll need to remember all of this." - - - Melehkor's ultimate goal in life was to return to humanity. He'd been searching everywhere, and had picked up a lot of powers that other Vampires don't have, like the power to walk in a church, the power to eat Garlic, the power to swim in holy water and the power to walk in daylight. Many vampires had tried to emulate it, but to little success. Melehkor firmly believed in his plight, and was thinking how to get one. He knew the chief Bishop of Ambervale had one. He decided that was where he had to go. Unfortunately, that was when the New Evil's armies struck Cadoan. - - - Back in Ambervale, the New Evil as Li-Grim grinned and summoned Shara and Rothus forth. "AH!!! Two Mateus!" "No it's not, it's Shara and Rothus!" Thenardi yelled. Schneider sighed. "It's an illusion put on Marche. Come on. Let's slay some evil." "Ok." - - - In Cadoan, Melehkor was approached by the leader of the Cadoan Guard, asking for assistance. Melehkor, despite his vampiric tendencies, loved Cadoan and so agreed. He drew a sword, the one he used to use before he turned to a vampire. The Nagranok glinting in his hand, he screamed the battlecry of "Down with this sort of thing!" and charged. Now, a vampiric bloodlust can be contained. But in the heat of battle, it can surface, turning the Vampire into a bloodthirsty beast with a deadly skill with a weapon. Compare it to Thenardi losing his hat, but slightly worse. The New Evil picked the wrong day to invade. The first Agent ran forward, and Melehkor reached out with his hands and, with a quick movement, snapped his neck. The second one Melehkor decapitated. The third one was the unluckiest. He was skewered by the Nagranok, then Melehkor ran up and sank his fangs into the Agent's neck, tasting the blood within. "Crap, this is what I've been missing? Screw Tofu. I'm a blood addict now!"  
  
Soon the number of Agents depleted. The guard kept them at bay with arrows and magic, while Melehkor was outside the gates, killing all in his path. "Need...more!!!" he yelled, screaming, before running into a group of Agents who were chanting to raise a demon to batter down the gates. They were all murdered viciously. Soon, the Agents were either dead or fleeing. Melehkor turned to Cadoan, to the frightened people watching, and grinned. "Mmm...it tastes just like chicken!" he yelled, before running into the forest, never to be seen by a Cadoan again. Which is lucky for the Cadoans, as he was constantly hungry. And not for Tofu. - - - The battle of Ambervale began. As the battle started, a whole load of the New Evil Agents appeared from the failure at Cadoan and rushed at Clan Destiny. "Who the hell...?" Marche asked. The New Evil paused, then muttered something, teleporting Marche away. "By the way, before any of you ask...I've sent him to his home dimension alongside the rest of his friends," he said, grinning at their look of dismay. "This is it, children," Rothus said. "The End of Days. Y'all ready?" "Oh, we're ready all right!" Agatha yelled, before motioning to the rest of Group Shara and running to face the Viera of the group's name. Eldana nodded, before walking with the Agent Group to attack the flood of the New Evil's cronies sweeping through the room. Largo smiled. "Looks like we're up! C'mon everyone. Let's go get that evil!" he said in a positive manner, before running to face the big bad. Schneider sighed, and turned round to look at his opponent. "Hello, Chief Bishop," Rothus said, grinning. "You ready for this?" "Hehe...I've been waiting in my dimensional prison for years. It's time to fight, time to die." - - - The Shara Group weren't doing very well. Shara had put Conceal on her and was circling the group, who were huddled together, watching for any movement in the air. Suddenly Agatha heard something. Just a faint tapping on the floor. 'Footsteps...' she thought. She focused on the sound, waiting for it to stop so she could slash the area she stopped at. When she heard the steps end, she didn't hesitate and thrust in the direction of the steps. She heard a yelp of "PAIN!!!" and Shara materialized in front of her. There was a great gash in her stomach, and she was flinching constantly. Thenardi took the opportunity to lash out, and, conjuring all his magical power, yelled "FIRAGA!" However, he didn't get a Firaga-ball. As he yelled this, a sudden burst of light was emitted from the Saphre Aude, blinding everyone in the vicinity, and a massive Fire Snake shot out, flying towards Shara. She screamed, and just before the flame hit her, she teleported out of the church to the Asylum. Thenardi stared at the Saphre Aude. "Woah...powerful..." Madeline nodded. "You're telling me!" "C'mon, let's help the Agent Group." Agatha proposed. Tim started. "Better idea. RUN!!! RUN AWAY!!!" Thenardi stared. And stared. And stared. Then said, "He makes a good point, but let's face it, we have a fire-snakey thingy firing Rod here. C'mon, let's go kill stuff." As they walked off into the main battle, Tim muttered, "Don't see why we couldn't have done my idea...no-one appreciates my input." - - - The New Evil group, meanwhile, had just arrived at the base of the statue where, at the top, the New and Exciting Evil stood, in the form of Viola, grinning. "Oh dear. Is this all they sent to kill me? A blind man, a possessed, an injured mage and a Ninja that doesn't know what he's doing! Honestly. I thought you wanted to stop me, not add to my death list." "Trust me, you won't survive this!" Wasabi yelled. "Oh really..." the New Evil smiled, then transformed into David. This David had his eyes intact. "You see, I can get under your skin, find out what makes you tick, then exploit it. And there's nothing you ca-AH!!! PAIN!!!" He yelled this at the end, as David, who had been getting more and more resentful as the New Evil had been talking, just let it bubble over and flung one of his hunting knives at the New Evil. "Ehehehehehe...y'see Mr Evil. You can't even dodge a knife thrown by a blind man, so how are you going to beat us?" "Like this," he said, and jumped down, off the statue, and landed in a crouching position. He looked up, and grinned. "You ready?" Before they could answer, the New Evil had ran to the little group and started pummelling into them, receiving few blows in return, teleporting behind someone when they were close to hitting him. The first to fall was Wasabi, when the New Evil grabbed the Katana off of him and stabbed him. David yelled blue murder, before running to attack the New Evil. The New Evil teleported behind David and tried to slash him, but David dodged sideways, backflipped over him and flung his second hunting knife at him. Again, this hit the New Evil, who screamed, "AH!!! MORE PAIN!!!" David grinned, pulled out his OathBow, and leapt over him again, firing an arrow into the back of his head. "AH!!! YET MORE PAIN!!!" the New Evil yelled. "This is easy!" David exclaimed, before being sent flying backwards into a wall by a sudden attack by the New Evil, who grinned. "Difficulty's been raised now, children!" he yelled, before jumping and kicking Babus into David. Then he turned round and stared at Largo. "Ah...crap," Largo said. "Ah, Largo! Buh bye!!!" the New Evil smiled, before running towards him. Every one of his thoughts was concentrated on hitting Largo, so he was incredibly surprised when he ran to hit him and instead got skewered on his Sabre. "What the..." the New Evil looked down. Then he looked up. "Largo don't live here no more!" Archtaeus yelled triumphantly. His wings extended, and he flew up to the ceiling. "Y'know. I don't have to keep saving Largo. But I do. Because he helps people from people like you. And now I'm going to kill you!" The New Evil grinned. "If you do, your friends die." Archtaeus looked down. And down. And down. And saw the Agents had completely swarmed the Agent group. Only Quin was fighting still, and the Agents were backed away. He saw Quin grin, before sending a massive Giga-Flare at a group of Agents, who were turned into a mountain of ash. However, the rest of the Agents saw this as an opportunity and swamped him. "You catch my drift?" the New Evil grinned. Then something very lucky happened. Melehkor burst into the church, and saw the Agents. He grinned. "Hehe, why you running from uncle Melehkor! He wanted you round to dinner. Well, to be it!" Nobody noticed Schneider and Rothus disappear suddenly - - - "Where are we?" Schneider asked. Rothus grinned. "We're in the Statue Room of the Church, of course! Look and see! There's the statue you hid behind! And there's the one that...TRAPPED me in a Prison Dimension for so many years!" Schneider looked around. The statues had lost their grandeur and had become derelict. However, there could be his final security measure. Maybe. "Come on, you lizard, take what's coming to you!" Schneider paused. The veins on his neck started throbbing. He suddenly yelled, "HOLY!!!" As soon as he yelled this, a massive wave of pure energy hit Rothus, sending him flying backwards. To Schneider's horror, as he was about to hit the wall, he suddenly stopped and just floated in mid-air. Rothus grinned. "Herectus ULTIMA!!!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, and a massive ball of Dark Energy hit Schneider, lifting him into the air, and sending Dark Magic Currents shooting through his body. Schneider convulsed violently as each dark wave shook through him. "Hehe, let's see if that Dimensional Shift security is still working! SECURITY ACTIVATE!!!" he yelled. A voice rang out across the entire church. "The self-destruct system has been activated. You have one minute to escape!" Rothus stared. Then he screamed, "NO!!! HOW!!!? I DIDN'T WANT THAT!!!" Schneider grinned. "Hope you still know this church like the back of your hand! Teleport DISPEL!!!" "NO!!! NO NO NO NO NO!!!" Schneider grinned, then ran out as fast as he could. - - - Archtaeus heard the message and swooped down. He grabbed Eldana, Viola and Kenneth and, unable to carry anymore, flew out of the room. He took a last pitiful glance at the church before flying off into the distance. - - - David, Wasabi and Agatha were rounding everyone up. The Agents who tried to catch them were just grabbed by Melehkor and turned into another meal for him. Everyone managed to get out by the same exit, apart from Schneider, who found an entrance to the tunnel which runs under Ivalice, like the one they found on the day they first met Viola and Tim. He said a silent prayer to Addremalich before climbing down to the sewer, alone. - - - As Melehkor finished the last Agent off, he heard the siren saying, "There is twenty seconds to go. Please leave the building as soon as possible." He looked up and saw a man standing there. The man grinned, transformed into a Viera, and vanished. Melehkor stared for a second, then shrugged and teleported to his home in the Salikawood. - - - 3-2-1 Rothus sighed. "Boom." Then he saw black. Followed by the New Evil. "Rothus...are you ok?" "Ye-yeah. We lost, didn't we? We lost badly." The New Evil grinned. "Not quite. Lookie here what I found!" At this he held up a feather. "Woah...it's an Angel Feather!" Shara exclaimed. "Yup. We're gonna use this in a mass-resurrection. My Agents will return, stronger than ever. Won't this be fun!" "Err...yes?" - - - The explosion was so powerful that Thenardi, Madeline, David and Agatha were knocked clean out. After much shaking of their shoulders, Wasabi, Quin, Tim and Babus left them and walked silently away. When they woke up, they were really disorientated. "Woah...where...where are we?" Thenardi asked. Madeline stumbled around. "I think...we're in Ambervale." David stood up. "I think we won that battle." Agatha grinned. "Yeah, we did! And I reckon the others went ahead of us." David smiled. "I reckon we should go to find Largo. I mean, he's the one that the New Evil will be going after first." Thenardi and Madeline nodded. Agatha grinned. "Hey, I don't care. Hell...where's Schneider?" - - - Haeteptus the Dragon had decided to poke around in a tunnel he had found. As he was eating the remains of the Lilith that had crossed his path, he heard a voice. "Hey, dragon! Turn around ssso I can sssee you!" The Dragon turned around and saw a Lizard-man with tattered robes. The Lizard-man smiled, and yelled "HOLY!!!" Then Haeteptus saw white. It was the start of a New and Exciting Archbishop Schneider. -_+_-_+_- So, this is the end of the first part of Mage Wars. I hope you enjoyed it, and that you'll stay tuned for the second part of Mage Wars, which...I haven't figured the name for it yet. When I figure one out, you'll be the first to know. Please Note (Fanfiction.net Readers)-If you go to the site, there is an additional two chapters with the Alternate Endings and Bloopers. I'll update my profile with it as my website. - - - Please insert Disc Two. 


	16. Trailer of Mage Wars II

Chapter 16-Trailer of Mage Wars II  
  
I've decided to give you a little explanation of the second Mage Wars, because I'm so nice!  
  
Please don't judge me harshly, because I'm too cool for that :P  
  
ROLL THE TRAILER!!!  
  
Person in Audience-I hate trailers.  
  
- -  
  
It was a time of war...  
  
"The End of Days is approaching! RUN, RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!"  
  
It was a time for religion...  
  
"Hehe...time to go Inquisssitor on your assss."  
  
And it was a time...of evil.  
  
*dramatic music plays*  
  
"You know you can't beat me, Largo. After all, without me, there would be no Ivalice. For I am The Evil One, and your soul is mine!"  
  
This Spring...  
  
Clan Destiny are back. Their war against the New Evil is continuing. And this time, it's not only him they need to worry about.  
  
"You guys...it's Melehkor. He's building an army."  
  
"I'm back, baby! And this time, Rothus ain't going down without a fight! AHA!!!"  
  
Read, as each of their characters take on a whole new level.  
  
"The hat...it burned...RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGH!!!!"  
  
Read, as the gripping storyline takes you through the corruptive world of Ivalice.  
  
*dramatic music intensifies*  
  
And read as Largo does more cool stuff and gets possessed moreso!  
  
It's coming soon...  
  
To a Fanfiction Site near you...  
  
*dramatic music climaxes, then stops*  
  
Message On-Screen: Now, you will have the opportunity for an extract of Mage Wars II-Lost Memories. Enjoy!  
  
Person in audience-Damn, when will the movie start? I came here to watch Dawn of the Dead, not sit through 3 hours of trailers!  
  
Other person-Shh, I loved the first one!  
  
*beep, beep, beep*  
  
- -  
  
As his armies gathered, Melehkor grinned. He had managed to gather an army of monsters and Jagd Outlaws. But where to attack first...there were so many good places to choose from. No point attacking Cadoan, they'd probably be prepared.  
  
But Cyril...  
  
It's big; it has no idea what's going on...  
  
It's perfect!  
  
"Rally the forces! We attack at dawn!" Melehkor yelled at his right hand man, a Paladin called Vryaseth.  
  
Vryaseth had spent years training as every sort of job, and was about to be promoted to the elite Church Guard. However, he made a fatal mistake that killed all of his friends and so was banished in disgrace. He left for Jagd Dorsa, where he made a living by hiring himself out as a mercenary. It was at this time Melehkor approached him, asking for his assistance in taking over the world. Vryaseth obviously consented.  
  
Melehkor actually wasn't working with The Less New and Getting-kind-of- boring-now Evil (It's been shortened to The Old Evil), but was actually working to destroy it. He loved to attack the Agents, savouring the rush the blood gave him.  
  
The army began its march to destiny. 


End file.
